Part two: Diction I Levels of words: formal, common, and colloquial II The meaning of words: denotation and connotation III General and specific IV Idioms V Figures of speech

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Part two DictionI Levels of words
formal, common, and colloquialII The meaning of
words denotation and connotationIII General
and specificIV Idioms V Figures of speech
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Figures of Speech

• Simile - compares two things, using the words
  like, as, as if, as though, as ...
  as.ExamplesThe old man's face was as wrinkled
  as an elephant's hide.Her eyes were like
  emeralds.
• Metaphor - compares two things by saying one
  thing is another thing.  It does not use the
  words like or as.ExamplesMy teacher is a drill
  sergeant.The snow was a soft blanket completely
  covering the brown earth.
• Hyperbole - a description that is greatly
  exaggerated.ExamplesThat music is so loud it
  can be heard across the sea.His shirt was so big
  his brother could wear it at the same time. 

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• Alliteration - repetition of a letter or sounds,
  usually at the beginning of words.  This is how
  tongue twisters are formed.ExamplesShe wore
  sixty shimmering shells under her shawl.The
  majestic moonlight made Maria melancholy.
• Onomatopoeia - words, which suggest the sound of
  what, they are describing.ExamplesThe ducks
  were quacking and the bees were buzzing.The
  silence was broken by the sound of the cuckoo
  clock.

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• Litotes - denying the opposite of what is meant,
  sometimes humorously.ExamplesThe nose ring did
  not make her appear more conventional.The
  burglar didn't mind carrying the baseball bat
  around with him.
• Oxymoron - a contradictory phrase.ExamplesYour
  answers are perfectly wrong.The jacket was made
  with genuine imitation leather.

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• (further details)
• http//home.t-online.de/home/toni.goeller/idiom_wm
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