Synecdoche vs Metonymy

Synecdoche: 

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

collocation

What Is a Collocation?

A collocation is made up of two or more words that are commonly used together in English. Think of collocations as words that usually go together. There are different kinds of collocations in English. Strong collocations are word pairings that are expected to come together. Good collocation examples of this type of word pairing are combinations with 'make' and 'do'. You make a cup of tea, but do your homework. Collocations are very common in business settings when certain nouns are routinely combined with certain verbs or adjectives. For example, draw up a contract, set a price, conduct negotiations, etc.

Collocation Examples:

Here are a number of common collocations in English:

·         make the bed -> I need to make the bed everyday.

·         do the homework -> My son does his homework after dinner.

·         take a risk -> Some people don't take enough risks in life.

·         give someone advice -> The teacher gave us some advice on taking tests.

Here are some business collocations.These collocations are used for specific situations in business.

·         open an account -> Would you like to open an account at our bank?

·         forgive a debt -> Do you think the bank would forgive a debt?

·         land a deal -> We landed a deal worth $3 million.

·         receive a discount -> If you buy three computers you'll receive a discount.

Verb Collocations

These sheets provide a matching game with some of the most common verb + noun collocations used in everyday situations. Here are some examples of the types of verb collocations you will learn:

·         to feel free

·         to come prepared

·         to save time

·         to find a replacement

·         to make progress

·         to do the washing up

    Verb Collocations with Take, Have and Break

    Verb Collocations with Catch, Pay and Keep

    Verb Collocations with Save, Find and Go

    Verb Collocations with Come, Get and Feel

    Verb Collocations with Miss, Get, Do and Make

Business Collocations

These collocation sheets provide common collocations used in business and work settings. There are a number of forms including adjectives, nouns and other verbs that combine with these key words. Each sheet includes a number of collocation examples to illustrate usage. Here are some of the collocation examples you will find on these pages:

·         to key in a PIN

·         to deposit a check

·         hard-earned money

·         protection money

·         counterfeit money

    Collocations with Money

    Collocations with Equipment

    Banking Vocabulary Collocations Quiz

Common Expressions

Collocations are often used as short expressions to describe how someone feels about a situation. In this case, collocations can be used in the adjective form, or also as emphatic expressions using an intensifier and a verb. Here are a few examples using some of these collocation examples:

·         We'd like to positively encourage you to buy this stock.

·         I deeply regret the loss of your loved one.

·         Tom's in an utter fury over the misunderstanding with his wife.

·         He went to a great length to explain the situation.