METONYMY AND SYNECDOTE

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Synecdoche: Parts and Wholes

Let's talk about synecdoche and metonymy, two very particular types of metaphorical expression in which one word is representative for another word or concept. But before we start, let me ask you: Have you ever checked out someone's wheels? Put on a Band-Aid after getting a cut? Cheered on New York during a football game? Even if you haven't, I bet you perfectly understand what each of those sentences mean: That when I say 'wheels' I mean 'car,' when I say 'Band-Aid' I mean an adhesive bandage and when I say 'New York,' I mean whichever team from New York happens to be playing.

These are all examples of synecdoche. In synecdoche, a part of something is used to refer to the whole entity, or a whole entity is used to refer to part of something. Some examples? This happens every time someone refers to 'Americans' when what they really mean is the citizens of the United States of America. 'Americans' is a synecdoche for the USA and does not include every member of the entire continents of North or South America (sorry, Canada!). Another synecdoche in everyday usage is when someone asks for your number. You know what they are really asking you for is your phone number and not just a collection of random digits. Here are a couple more examples:

• 'Hey man, nice threads.' Threads, here, refers to clothes (part of something referring to the whole).
• 'The stage was nearly set up, but the conductor didn't have enough space for the strings.' Here, 'strings' is synecdoche for a single unit: the 'string section.'

Synecdoche: Materials and Containers

Sometimes the material an item is made of can be used as synecdoche in place of the actual object. When a sword is referred to as 'steel,' for instance, this is synecdoche, since the entire sword is probably not made of steel. Moreover, the sword could be made of another metal altogether, but the historical connection between 'steel' and 'sword' is powerful enough to make it synecdoche nonetheless.

Likewise, if someone asks, 'Are you wearing Kevlar?' you might know from watching enough action movies that this is synecdoche for a bulletproof vest, while using 'plastic' at the grocery store means putting the bill on your credit card because credit cards are made of plastic. As with materials, containers can sometimes come to refer to the objects they contain - another form of synecdoche. As in, 'Nazie drank the cup,' which doesn't literally mean that Nazie swallowed a small cup, but rather that she drank the contents of the cup. Likewise, 'The bartender is giving away the bar,' means that he or she is giving out too many free drinks, which is the stuff the bar contains.

Metonymy

Metonymy is when a thing refers to something else that it's closely associated with, but unlike synecdoche, the part does not have to refer to the whole, or vice versa. Remember when we talked about how 'wheels' was synecdoche for 'car?' Here's the metonym version of the same:

'It was the town's mechanic, not the rich lawyer, who had the nicest ride.'

'Ride' here is a metonym for 'car' because riding is something you do in an automobile, but the 'ride' is not a part of the automobile and therefore does not qualify as synecdoche.

Here's another example: If someone asks you how many plates there are going to be at dinner, what they're really asking you is how many guests are going to show up. Plates are intimately associated with the act of eating, which is what dinner guests typically do, and therefore 'plates' is metonymic for 'dinner guests.' Similarly, if someone tells you 'You have nice kicks,' that's a metonym for shoes, since kicking is something you do with your feet and you wear shoes on your feet. It's not parts referring to wholes (that's synecdoche) but contextual associations linking one word to its meaning in conversation or writing. Technically, synecdoche is actually a very specific kind of metonymy, but synecdoche is a little easier to wrap your head around, and other types of metonymy don't get their own specific categories.

A Special Comparison

In metonymy, a large or abstract object is described by an object with which the larger or abstract object is affiliated. While these objects being compared are closely associated, they are not the same. For example, “The White House” is an object used to describe the entire executive branch of the United States government. The statement, “The White House released a new policy on terrorism,” is metonymy because the White House is a building and cannot physically state a policy.

Examples of Metonymy

This statement includes two examples of metonymy: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” In the oft-quoted phrase, "the pen" refers to the the written word, which, according to the statement, is a more effective and powerful instrument of change than "the sword," which represents military or physical force. When students say they study “Shakespeare,” they generally do not refer to a study of the man himself, but of his literary works. When we use the term “the press,” we are referring to journalists, not to the actual printing press that produces their work.

Part of a Whole

All poodles are dogs, but not all dogs are poodles. All synecdoche is metonymy, but not vice versa. Synecdoche is a special form of metonymy in which the object or idea used to describe something larger is actually a part or a component of the larger idea. This device may also be used when a smaller group is used to reference a larger group with which it is a part. “Hollywood” refers to the entire American movie making industry, not the suburb that was named “Hollywood.”

Examples of Synecdoche

“I got a new set of wheels” usually means, “I bought a new car,” of which wheels are a part. “Boots” can refer to “soldiers,” and “sails” to an entire ship. A specific brand of a product often comes to be used to describe a larger category. “Coke” is sometimes used to describe all colas, “Band-Aid” to describe any small adhesive bandage, and "Kleenex” to refer to any facial tissue. In "The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships," poet Christopher Marlowe writes, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?" The entire Greek military is represented by a part, "a thousand ships," while "the towers" represent the entire city and culture of Troy, and Helen's "face" is a part of her body that refers to her physical beauty as a whole.

REFERENCES: http://classroom.synonym.com/examples-metonymy-synecdoche-22055.html