L'esprit de l'escalier

•  Euphemism

  A euphemism is a substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the receiver, or to make it less troublesome for the speaker, as in the case of doublespeak. The deployment of euphemisms is a central aspect within the public application of political correctness.

  

  16.7%
  

  25.0%
  

  58.3%
  
•  Metaphor

  A metaphor is an analogy between two objects or ideas, conveyed by the use of a word instead of another. The English metaphor derives from the 16th-century Old French métaphore, from the Latin metaphora “carrying over”, Greek (μεταφορά) metaphorá “transfer”, from (μεταφέρω) metaphero “to carry over”, “to transfer” and from (μετά) meta “between” + (φέρω) phero, “to bear”, “to carry”.

  

  23.1%
  

  30.8%
  

  46.2%
  
•  Pun

  A pun, or paronomasia, is a form of word play that deliberately exploits an ambiguity between similar-sounding words for humorous or rhetorical effect. Such ambiguity may arise from the intentional misuse of homophonical, homographical, homonymic, polysemic, metonymic, or metaphorical language. By definition, puns must be deliberate; an involuntary substitution of similar words is called a malapropism. Samuel Johnson disparagingly referred to punning as "the lowest form of humour".

  

  33.3%
  

  11.1%
  

  55.6%
  
•  Spoonerism

  A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched. It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency. It is also known as a marrowsky, after a Polish count who suffered from the same impediment.

  

  40.0%
  

  40.0%
  

  20.0%
  
•  Simile

  A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the words "like" or "as". Even though similes and metaphors are both forms of comparison, similes allow the two ideas to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas metaphors compare two things without using "like" or "as". For instance, a simile that compares a person with a bullet would go as follows: "Emanuel was a record-setting runner and as fast as a speeding bullet.

  

  25.0%
  

  37.5%
  

  37.5%
  
•  Dysphemism

  In language, dysphemism (from the Greek dys δύς "mis-" and pheme φήμη "reputation"), malphemism (in Latin malus "bad"), and cacophemism (in Greek kakos κακός "bad") refer to the usage of an intentionally harsh word or expression instead of a polite one; they are rough opposites of euphemism. For example, referring to the paper version of an online magazine as the "dead tree edition" is an example of dysphemism.

  

  18.2%
  

  27.3%
  

  54.5%
  
•  Eponym

  An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named. One who is referred to as eponymous is someone who gives his or her name to something, e.g. Julian, the eponymous owner of the famous restaurant Julian's Castle. Something eponymous is named after a particular person, e.g. Julian's eponymous restaurant. Eponymous also means simply having the same name.

  

  14.3%
  

  0.0%
  

  85.7%
  
•  Crossroads (culture)

  A crossroads is a road junction, where two or more roads meet. In British English it is specifically defined as being where two roads cross each other (there are exactly 4 arms), while in American English it can refer to a road intersection with any number of arms. The term is often used metaphorically, as an abstraction of places or occasions where people meet. Unlike the terms road intersection and road junction, crossroads is used in a more figurative or poetic sense.

  

  33.3%
  

  33.3%
  

  33.3%
  
•  Elision

  Elision is the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase, producing a result that is easier for the speaker to pronounce. Sometimes, sounds may be elided for euphonic effect. Elision is normally unintentional, but it may be deliberate. The result may be impressionistically described as "slurred" or "muted. " An example of deliberate elision occurs in Latin poetry as a stylistic device.

  

  40.0%
  

  40.0%
  

  20.0%
  
•  Double entendre

  A double entendre (pronounced /ˌduː. bᵊl. ɑ̃ːnˈtɑ̃ːn. drə/) or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué, inappropriate, or ironic. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a double entendre as especially being used to "convey an indelicate meaning".

  

  30.8%
  

  46.2%
  

  23.1%
  

• Figures of speech by likeorhate
• French words and phrases by likeorhate

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•  WCA

  WCA is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:

  

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  100.0%
  
•  Coppa Italia 2008–09

  

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•  Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive (1943)

  

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•  Diego López Pacheco, 7th Duke of Escalona

  

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•  Elisa Caroline Bommer

  Elisa Caroline Bommer née Destrée (19 January 1832 Laeken - 17 January 1910 Brussels), was a Belgian botanist specialising in mycology, and was the wife of pteridologist and collector Joseph Edouard Bommer (1829-1895), who was professor of botany at University of Brussels in 1872.

  

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