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"alliteration"
Definition: A figure of speech in which consonant sounds at the beginning of words are repeated.
Etymology:
From the Latin, "putting letters together"
Examples and Observations:
- "In a somer seson, whan soft was the sonne,
I shope me into shroudes, as I a shepe were"
(William Langland, Piers Plowman, 14th century)
- "Father is rather vulgar, my dear. The word Papa, besides, gives a pretty form to the lips. Papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes, and prism, are all very good words for the lips: especially prunes and prism."
(Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit)
- "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden)
- "A moist young moon hung above the mist of a neighboring meadow."
(Vladimir Nabokov, Conclusive Evidence)
- "Guinness is good for you."
(advertising slogan)
- "Progression is not proclamation nor palaver. It is not pretense nor play on prejudice. It is not of personal pronouns, nor perennial pronouncement. It is not the perturbation of a people passion-wrought, nor a promise proposed."
(Warren G. Harding)
- "Who often, but without success, have prayed for apt Alliteration's artful aid."
(Charles Churchill)
- "The daily diary of the American dream."
(advertising slogan for The Wall Street Journal)
- "What we want is Watneys."
(advertising slogan for Watney's beer)
- "My style is public negotiations for parity, rather than private negotiations for position."
(Jesse Jackson)
- "Forget the most obvious problem with collegiate calorie counting, that studying Kierkegaard or Conrad after a dinner of seitan and soy chips would render even robust stomachs seasick, sometimes outright ill. And I wont harp on the clear link between vigorous salad consumption and sulkiness."
(Marisha Pessl, "Seize the Weight," The New York Times, October 6, 2006)
Pronunciation: ah-lit-err-RAY-shun
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