Synecdoche, which I looked at last week, is actually a subcategory of another rhetorical device: metonymy. Metonymy involves the substitution of one term for a closely related term. In the case of synecdoche, that substitution involves the whole for the part (“the FBI” for the “the agent”) or the part for the whole (“the hand” for “the sailor”).
Metonymy is the broader premise of substitution, including:
- Inventor for invention (“Don’t forget your Stetson.”)
- Artist for art (“I love that Picasso!”)
- Physical place or item for a concept (“I’m not ready for the altar.”)
- Places or locations for institutions or groups (“Wall Street didn’t know what was happening.”)
Once you’re looking for it, metonymy appears everywhere, because so much idiomatic English relies on these substitutions. “Anyone with half a brain,” “have a little heart,” “the pen is mightier than the sword.” There’s a clear substitution occurring in each of these idioms that exchanges a concept—intelligence, compassion, written word/violence—for a related idea.
Taylor Coe 