Top 20 Figures of Speech Quiz

Select the figure of speech most clearly illustrated by the short passage

An illustration of figures of speech
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By
Richard Nordquist
Richard Nordquist
English and Rhetoric Professor
  • Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
  • M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
  • B.A., English, State University of New York
Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks.
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Updated on May 01, 2018
1. Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare. (Langston Hughes, "Mother to Son")
2. Turn off your television sets. Turn them off now! Turn them off right now! Turn them off and leave them off. Turn them off right in the middle of this sentence I'm speaking to you now. (Peter Finch as television anchorman Howard Beale in Network, 1976)
3. Substituting the word “euthanasia” for “mercy killing" or "killing the terminally ill"
4. I had so much homework last night that I needed a pickup truck to carry all my books home!
5. Let's just say that Bozo the Clown is not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.
6. The chug-a, chug-a, chug-a of the train echoed down the hill, while a cloud of smoke rose up to the blue western sky.
7. But the prisoner would not answer, he only lay with wide, dark, bright, eyes, like a bound animal. (D. H. Lawrence, England, My England)
8. You have a lot of work to do, so I'll lend you a hand.
9. Pitching pennies with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a pitter-patter of rain outside the Pitti Palace. (James Thurber, Lanterns and Lances, 1961)
10. O Western wind, when wilt thou blow That the small rain down can rain? Christ, that my love were in my arms, And I in my bed again! (Anonymous, "O Western Wind")
11. The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart. (Benjamin Franklin)
12. We talked with each other about each other Though neither of us spoke — (Emily Dickinson)
13. The earth laughs beneath my heavy feet At the blasphemy in my old jangly walk (Billy Corgan, "Thirty-three")
14. I dig my toes into the sand. The ocean looks like A thousand diamonds strewn Across a blue blanket. (Incubus, "Wish You Were Here")
15. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. (Genesis 3:19)
16. Why do we wait until a pig is dead to cure it?
17. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity..."
18. My wishes raced through the house high hay And nothing I cared, at my sky blue trades, . . . (Dylan Thomas, "Fern Hill")
19. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room." (Peter Sellers as President Merkin Muffley in Dr. Strangelove, 1964)
20. Prospective buyers are advised not to rely heavily on the front brakes, which are not connected. (advertisement for a replica 1925 Rolls-Royce WWI Armored Car)
Top 20 Figures of Speech Quiz
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Top 20 Figures of Speech Quiz
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Good start! You can use these resources to learn more about common figures of speech:

Top 20 Figures of Speech Quiz
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Top 20 Figures of Speech Quiz
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Top 20 Figures of Speech Quiz
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Top 20 Figures of Speech Quiz
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Top 20 Figures of Speech Quiz
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Top 20 Figures of Speech Quiz
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