Figures of Speech Served Fresh

Dear Figaro,

McCain about Obama:“I admire and respect Senator Obama.For a young man with very little experience, he’s done very well.”
May 22, 2008,New York Times.
Please give your comments and analysis.
Yours,

Arie Vrolijk

Dear Figaro,

thanks for this fantastic site! In "Why Figures" you say "The French and Germans, those connoisseurs of humiliation, each had a name for it (l’esprit de l’escalier, stehrwitt)"
Is "stehrwitt" really German? I only found "Treppenwitz",

Rolf-Peter

I am reading your book, which I am enjoying quite a bit. On page 130, you suggest replying with "Can you say that naked?" to a straw man argument. I don't understand what that reply means. I've asked several people of different ages and none of them recognize the expression. There are various theories, of course, about how to interpret it. I've probably asked about 10 people; but none of them get it. Guess I won't be able to use it myself. But what do you mean by it? Does it have an origin in pop culture?

Hi Fig,

On chapter 3....great writing style. It's fun to read. Love the book....maybe I'm jumping the gun and should wait till I finish but.....I'd like to become more effective in spotting and using logic and rhetoric....is there a workbook that you've got or a way to practice so I can read or listen to arguments, pull them apart and decifer them for practice.

Thanks!

Shane

Dear Figaro,

Since this is a "friendly environment," I will use the word "foot" to replace the name of another, decidedly masculine, anatomical feature in this posting.

On another site, a comment I made was derided by another commenter, who closed by saying, "Welcome to the party, foothead."

Since I felt the derision was unwarranted, I explained why, closing with, "Welcome to my foot, partyhead."

Obviously the substitution takes much of the punch out of the response, but my question is: what is the term for the technique I used of repeating the original insult, but with a reversal of words or syllables, to create a (hopefully) more potent slam?

Mark

Dear Dick... I mean, Mark:

I don't know that there is a precise term for your organic witticism, though there is something of a CHIASMUS to it. A more general term, ASTEISMUS, applies to a retort that plays on a word.

On the other hand, "Welcome to my [insert organ here]" sounds like a very polite invitation to sex--something the Continental might have tried on Saturday Night Live, if he could only get past first base.

Fig.

Dear Figaro, I just finished reading your book and what a delight! The book is a part of a reading material for a PhD course, “Academic writing in English”, being held in Oslo, beginning on Monday, therefore it was not a recreational, voluntary reading to begin with but it began to feel quite voluntarily after just a couple of pages – so enjoyable it should be illegal! Meaning it’s not your typical PhD reading material (which is a good thing, sometimes at least – I guess it would be possible to read an insult in all this if one was inclined to do so).
I wanted to ask for your advice concerning an argument I plan to have with my next door neighbor. My neighbor and I share the same garden. I have 3 kids (aged 1-10) and my neighbor has a large Doberman. In the past I have had a discussion with my neighbor about the dog and he has stated that the dog is a harmless creature who will obey his master at all times (inevitably an argument about the past, he can’t say what the future holds), and the dog is always kept on a tight leash. A year has passed since this discussion and I have observed a few things: 1) the dog is not kept on a tight leash all the time, 2) The owners girlfriend often lets the dog out and the dog does not obey her, 3) If the dog sees my kids he starts barking and 4) the dog goes to the bathroom in our garden making it impossible for my kids to play there. Added to these observations I have discovered that the dog is not registered (the City of Reykjavik has an ordinance stating that all dogs living within the city’s limits have to be registered, included in the registration is a liability insurance). Now what I want is for my neighbor to put up a fence (large enough so the dog can’t jump over it) closing off his half of the garden so my kids can run around freely without steeping on dog shit and without having their faces bitten off (too much pathos?) and I want him to do it at his own cost and within a certain time period. And I want to keep peace with my neighbor (too preacher like?) I have thought about using the “concerned mother” approach which would emphasize that I’m responsible for the kids and even though the dog hasn’t been violent towards children in the past we can’t know what the future holds but I have a feeling that this argument might not convince my neighbor since he has previously stuck to his “dog will obey master” argument. If I have to bring my observations about the dog not being on a tight leash and not obeying into the argument what would be the best way to do that, and at the same time getting what I want (a fence within a certain time period at his expense and peace and harmony)? And if all else fails, what is the most productive way of showing the ace I have up my sleeve (dog not being registered).

Kind regards from Reykjavik, Iceland,
Gyda


Dear Gyda,

What a coincidence. I was just working on an essay title "Proper Etiquette for When One Is Bitten by a Dog" when I decided to pay a visit to my poor neglected website.

Many dog owners suffer from what Figaro calls the Dog Owner's Fallacy: the assumption that the dog's behavior toward its master determines its behavior toward everyone else. Never mind that dogs are pack animals and that a stranger by definition is a member of a different pack.

The question for you is, what's motivating your neighbor? Is he simply being thoughtless? You might learn a lot by having him (sans Adolph) over for dinner. Don't discuss the dog. Have him get to know your lovely, vulnerable children. He may very well bring up the dog issue himself. Let him. Then say, "You know I am the last person to appeal to the authorities. But I also don't want you to lose your house when your dog disfigures one of my children. Yes, extremely unlikely, I'm sure. Goerhing is a lovely dog. But you and I don't want to take the slightest chance...given the consequences."

If he doesn't mention the dog at dinner, stop by his house a week or so after and say these things yourself. If he balks, sigh deeply and say, "Well, I'm protecting you as much as me. Let me lay out the options. Tell me if you see any others." List the options: chaining the dog, putting up a fence, getting rid of the dog (heaven forbid!), or doing nothing--in which case you'll have to be the motivated one and report him and his dog to the authorities. Again, say that's the last recourse, and you'll only do it if he fails to understand the risk he's taking.

It's all about him, not you. Present the case in terms of him. And if all else fails, you have Figaro's permission to shoot the dog.

Fig.

Dear Fig, I'm interested in knowing the name of this figure of speech: "I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction." Ayn Rand, Anthem.
Jack

Dear Jack,

It's a marvelous ANTISTASIS, repeating words in a way that changes their context or meaning. At the same time, Ms. Rand is using a particularly interesting form of personification. L'etat, c'est moi. I am the way and the truth. She's in the company of kings and gods, that woman.

Amen, indeed.

Fig.

Dear Fig,
It's been a while since your last post, and that scary picture of Hillary on the front page is upsetting me every time I check in. Hope you can post something new soon. Here's a quotation that may inspire you:

"If you pitch like a chihuahua, you're going to get eaten by a rottweiler." --Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brett Myers, who is having a chihuahua kind of year

Best,
Sam

Dear Sam,

My apologies. Figaro just got back yesterday from a trip to Rome and Athens, where he reported a magazine story he's working on called "In Search of Democracy." The internet, alas, doesn't have quite the same vibrant presence in overseas hotels--at least the ones Figaro's miserly expense account can afford.

Besides that, he's been shut down with all the services he used to send the daily email. So we encourage everyone to use RSS (see the sidebar on the right for more info.)

As for your figurative dogs, it seems that everyone in baseball is trying to talk like Yogi Berra.

Fig.

Fuel Tanks Siphoned At Mankato Trucking Company
MANKATO, Minn. (WCCO) ― Police are looking for the person or people who took more than 100 gallons of gas in Mankato, Minn. last weekend.
The theft happened at a trucking company, PH Selly. Police think someone siphoned the fuel from cars parked outside the company.
The company's owners said they found at least a half-dozen gas caps on the ground after they found their gas tanks nearly empty.
Police said it appears the thieves also tried to get into the company's diesel trucks as well. The company is now considering adding security cameras.
Crimes like this are probably *fueled by the soaring price of gas,* police said.
On Thursday, the Twin Cities set a new record for the highest average gas prices, at $3.46, AAA said. Duluth and Rochester also set new records, at an average of $3.50.

Dear Figaro,
I think that the word "fueled"
in the above phrase "fueled by the soaring price of gas" must be a figure. It's not a pun exactly. Is it
a double entendre?
~Karen Murdock

Dear Karen,
You might say it's an ANTISTASIS (see the letter above), repeating a word in a way that changes its meaning. It's also indeed a pun, of the accidental variety.
Fig.

Dear Figaro,
First I'd like to say thanks for ruining my fun of being a tribe member. After reading your book everything I watch and listen to is running through a filter in my head- Is it blame, values, or choice? Is it ethos, pathos or logos? Or simply trying to identify things in speech or on a sitcom. My question is about Jeremiah Wright and his speeches. Occasionally he will say something to the effect of "Turn to somebody and say ----." Is he establishing the groups code language? Is there a name for having audience participation as a part of the argument? Thanks
Kinzner

Dear Kinz,

Ah, the call and response! The Rev adds a different twist--the Church Greeting--to call and response. You know, when Protestants painfully turn to one another and say hello.

But Wright goes even further, planting words in the audience's mouth. The only term Figaro can come up with for that technique is ETHOPOEIA.

As for ruining your tribal fun: Isn't cosmopolitan fun so much more fun?

Fig.

Dear Figaro,
What figure of speech is this sentence an example of? He moves so fast his sneakers have wings.
Kitty

Dear Kitty,
I'm afraid it's just a plain old HYPERBOLE.
Fig.

Dear Fig,
I'm interested in know the name of this figure of speech, including other noted examples: Robert M. Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance): "When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called Religion."
Jack

Dear Jack,
It's a SYNCRISIS combined with an ISOCOLON. For explanation, and another great example, click here: http://www.figarospeech.com/it-figures/2006/3/24/invading-the-bleak-wasteland-called-can-ah-dah.html
Fig.

Dear Figaro:

I have just finished (I'd like to include a take on "wading through" here, to suggest smoothness--perhaps "mag-leving through") your book, and I have to offer my heartiest thanks: what a jolly good read.

Having never been schooled in the art of rhetoric, I now realise that it is the very quality I have seen in people and admired, while concurrently detesting the lack-of in others. Especially where politics is concerned. Being British, I have always assumed that those running my country would speak the part as well as--perhaps instead of?--acting it. However, in the face of the popular accusation that American politicians are the intellectual inferiors of their transatlantic cousins(popular here, that is) I have always defended Senators and Representatives, and even Presidents, on the basis that they have to play a different game than MPs do. As you state in your final chapter, the British public still expects a politician to be first and foremost a good orator. Indeed, for many this could be said to be their primary--only?--quality.

I guess my question might be: given your desire to see the US move back towards a society that appreciates rhetoric above fear, how might an individual make a difference? How might an individual challenge the news media, the advertisers, the bipartisan system? How will America return to it's disinterested roots in the face of such attacks?

Kind regards,
Chris Evans

My dear Chris,

Hearing a real live Brit saying "jolly good" makes Figaro feel good. Jolly, jolly good.

How does one single-handedly rhetorize an entire nation? By insisting on rhetorical education in one's school district. And by quitting one's political party.

At a time of deep political division, the independents have all the power. And who are the independents in America? The voters who vote the least, follow the news the least, and have the least education. Alexander Hamilton got it right when he said that our republic depends on "impartial arbiters" who comprise an educated middle.

Fig.

Figaro,
Please comment on Hillary's statement yesterday:
"But when I hear him (Obama) criticizing the 1990s, I'm always wondering which part of it didn't he like---the peace or the prosperity?"
No ready comeback to this: no choice to speak of.
There is something delightfully devious in this play on words. What do we call this and have you a classic example?
Thanks,
mstone

Dear s (or may I call you "m"?),

Hillary uses a nice CERATIN, the horns of a dilemma. ("Ceratinae" means "made of horn."). DILEMMA itself is Greek for "double proposition." The figure presents the opponent with two unsavory or impossible choices.

A classic example in rhetoric is the man who asked a famous rhetorician to teach him on speculation. "I'll pay you when I used the skills you teach me to win a case," the man said. The rhetorician immediately sued the man, saying, "If you win, you have to pay me. If you lose, the court will make you pay me."

Fig.

Dear Figaro,
What's the name for this rhetorical reversal?: "The boys felt unsafe walking through the neighborhood, despite -- or perhaps because -- of the dozens of police officers that watched their every move."
Sam

Dear Sam,
It's a CORRECTIO, the self-correction. In this case, the correctio takes the form of a PARADOX, which tries to keep two logical balls in the air at the same time.
Fig.

Dear Figaro,
What is Hillary statement “HE’S NOT A MUSLIM AS FAR AS I KNOW.”
Wayne

Dear Wayne,
It's an especially nasty INNUENDO--Latin for "significant nod." A form of irony, it says something while denying you're saying it. Shame on Hillary.
Fig.

Dear Figaro, I recently watched the film "Thank you for smoking". The spokesman for tobacco says something like, "I attack the other guy, and if others see he's wrong, then I must be right." Is this a simple ad hominem attack or what?
Thanks,
Neal

Dear Neal,
Attacking the other guy is the very definition of ad hominem. But assuming you're right because everything else thinks the other guy is wrong constitutes an ad populum -- an appeal to the people. It's a fallacy that says if the masses approve, it must be true. Of course, in rhetoric, that's not really a fallacy; what most people believe forms a political truth. So the guy puffing for Big Tobacco must be right...if you define "right" rightly.
Fig.

Dear Figaro,

Where did the term, or saying, "to coin a praise" originate and what is it's meaning?

Thank you for your help!

J Harris

Dear J,

To coin a phrase or expression is to produce it, the way a mint produces a quarter. There's a negative connotation of overly elaborate speech, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. But Shakespeare found the subtler meaning as always: "I would rather coin my heart" than steal money from peasants, Brutus says in "Julius Caesar."

Could the Bard coin or what?

Fig.

Dear Figaro,
Great book. Personally I'm a fan of the chiasmus and while preparing a speech that will be delivered to approximately 800 people, I was sure to both follow Cicero's guide, and to insert a chiasmus at the end. Thanks for the great advice.
Scott

Dear Scott,
Let me know how it turns out.
Fig.

Dear Figaro,
I am interested in learning more about AUTOPHASIA. Can you suggest any sites, etc.? Except for this great site, I can't find references to the rhetorical figure. You provided some useful examples of its usage-if you have more, please share! I'm trying to differentiate Autophasia from Catch -22, if there is in fact a difference. I gather it is a type of self-referential paradox like the "Liar's Paradox" or the "Exception Paradox" ("if every rule has an exception..."). Thanks for your help! I really enjoy dropping by this site to see what figures are being explored
Pamela

Dear Pamela,
There is a slight distinction between an AUTOPHASIA and the Catch-22: the autophasia is a rule or principle that can be executed only by violating it. The original Catch-22 was a logical closed loop. In order to be discharged, a soldier had to be insane. But wanting a discharge proved he was sane.
Fig.