Figures of speech
•March 18, 2026•
by DM Williamee
Figures of speech have names, with some comical-sounding (oxymoron and assonance, for example). Many recall learning the parts of speech in school. Recently, I was speaking with someone about modern education, and we were reminiscing about our middle school days of learning parts of speech using ‘Mad Libs’ and finding that most youth in today’s world will never know the joy of creating a short story about how we used a purple spoon to drive a skateboard to a lake to jump rope with Elvis. (Bring back the Mad Libs!) Figures of speech can be just as fun, with many types, and each serving a unique role in speech. Below are some of the more common and their meaning.