Figures of Speech Served Fresh

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

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 their a name for have audience participation as a part of the argument? Thanks

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

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.

Dear Figaro,
What figure of speech is "struck gold"?
Thanks,
Michelle

Dear Michelle,
A good old metaphor. That is, unless you literally took your pick and dug up some of that stuff.
Fig.

Dear Figaro:

On the front page of the March, 2008, issue of the California Bar Journal, there is an article about the role of Neuroscience in the courtroom. (Some scientists claim they can tell from an MRI examination of a person's brain whether the person is lying or telling the truth, guilty or innocent, violent or non-violent, etc.)

I was struck by one quotation and felt the need to send it to you for your analysis. A Stanford Law Professor, Hank Greely, urges a cautious approach. "I think we should be skeptical about these claims," he is quoted as saying. "We need to not rush into it. But we also need not to ignore it."

I am guessing this is an example of some esoteric figure of speech. Your thoughts?

Steve

Dear Steve,

All neuroscientists and law professors should study rhetoric. Brain scans have proven all kinds of stuff that Figaro's pals Aristotle, Isocrates, Gorgias, and Cicero knew already. For example, when you use a balanced figure like a CHIASMUS or one of the repetition figures, your audience's brain fires up to complete the figure. ("Either we can let the law rule the president, or we can let the president...") Acting agreeably fires up the pleasure center of the brain. Showing anger fires the audience's amygdala, the fear and impulse center (i.e., flight or fight). Figaro could go on.

But the problem with brain scans is that they don't define the terms for a scientist. Come up with a machine that can precisely parse "the truth" or "innocent," and you'll have Figaro's attention.

Oh, right. You asked a question. Prof. Greely is employing an ANTISAGOGE (an tih sa GO gee), the on the one hand, on the other hand figure of thought. From the Greek for "balancing arguments," the antisagoge makes you sound reasonable and fair-minded. Combine it with the RELUCTANT CONCLUSION (see p. 73 of Figaro's book), and you can steer your audience without their even knowing it.

Fig.

Fig:

No need to include this question. I'm e-mailing merely to point out that a link to an entry between 23 May 2007 and 31 May 2007 no longer works. The title in your archives is "We're Merismized."

Here's the link:

http://www.figarospeech.com/it-figures/we%e2%80%99re-merismized.html

Scott

Dear Scott,
Weird. It may have to do with the apostrophe. Anyone know how to fix that sort of thing?
Fig.

Dear Figaro,
My friend would like to be added to your email list. How does she do that?
Kathy

Dear Kathy,
Have her go here: http://www.figarospeech.com/daily-figure-email
Fig.

Dear Figaro,

While reading Jay's "Thank You for Arguing," I thought of the part about Ethos, and it made me finally understand what it was that infuriated me about blowhards like Bill O'Reilly and the like. They have sometimes solid logic, they are very slick in their delivery, but they fail miserably in establishing ethos! No matter what they say, I find myself just unconvinced, and I realize now that it is my basic personal dislike for them that creates this barrier.

For a perfect example of someone "winning the points but losing the debate," see Bill O'Reilly on Letterman on YouTube -- classic case of how important ethos is.

Patrick

Dear Patrick,
Ah, but said blowhards actually use an ethical strategy. (That's "ethical" as in "chock full o' Ethos.") Millions of viewers identify with the man; he represents a sort of brand for their own opinions, a convenient shortcut to thought.
Figaro

Dear Figaro,
What rhetoric device or fallacy is the quote "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
Christian

Dear Christian,

It's a CHIASMUS, Figaro's fave. The chiasmus, named for the Greek letter "X", makes a mirror image of a phrase or clause. Read Fig's book-- that quote is in there."

And, no, Mr. Kennedy's great chiasmus is no fallacy.

Fig.

Figaro,

My friend has decided to try out vegetarianism for a month. I'm a vegetarian, and want to nudge her into staying veg.

So, I wanted to bring up how a while back I showed her a couple of books she turned out falling in love with, to remind her that I have good opinions. Is there a word for that?

Oh and by the way, is there a word for giving animals or humans super powers? For example in the song "Speed of Soudnd" by Coldplay, the lyrics go "bird go flying at the speed of sound, to show you how it all began..." etc.

There seems to be a word for almost everything. Do you take a class purely about them for your english major?

Thanks, Alex

Dear Alex,
Reminding your friend of your brilliant taste in books enhances your PHRONESIS, or your audience's belief in your practical wisdom. Giving fish, fowl and folks superpowers constitute a form of HYPERBOLE, or exaggeration. There is a word for everything, but Figaro can't think of it. As for English majors suffering through a class of rhetorical terminology: Figaro devoutly hopes not.
Fig.

Jay,

My review of your book was finally published in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of the Champion, the magazine of the National Associate of Criminal Defense Lawyers. If you send me your web address I can forward it to you.

Jon May

Dear Jon,
Can't wait to see it. You can email Jay at Figaro@wildblue.net.
Fig.