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Difficulty: MediumFigurative Use of Language and Connotations

Complete the sentence below by identifying the specific figure of speech demonstrated in the context.

Answer:In the report, the military strategist referred to the naval fleet as 'forty sails', using 【synecdoche】 to substitute a part of the vessel for the entire ship.

Answer

The correct figure of speech is synecdoche.
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to refer to the whole (or vice versa). In this context, 'sails', which are integral physical parts of sailing vessels, are used figuratively to represent the complete ships making up the naval fleet.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the relationship between 'sails' and 'naval fleet / ships' in the sentence.
Identified that 'sails' represents a direct physical part or constituent element of a sailing ship.
Determining whether the expression uses a physical part to represent the whole structure is essential for classifying the figure of speech.
2
Differentiate synecdoche from related figures of speech like metonymy and metaphor.
Confirmed that using an integral component ('sails') to stand for the whole entity ('ships') precisely fits the definition of synecdoche.
Synecdoche specifically relies on a part-for-whole or whole-for-part relationship.

Key Concept

Synecdoche (Figure of Speech)
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Figurative Use of Language and Connotations

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