Metonymy

Metonymy names something by way of a thing closely associated with it rather than by its own name: 'the crown' for the monarchy, 'the bench' for the judges, so the association does the work of the definition.

The crown refused. No physical crown refused anything; the word stands in for the monarch, and the substitution carries an extra idea with it: what refused was an institution rather than a person.

That extra idea is the point. Metonymy is not a decorative swap. The thing chosen to stand in tells the reader how to feel about the thing itself.

Metonymy examples

• The pen is mightier than the sword. Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1839. Why it works: two objects stand for writing and for force, and the argument fits in seven words.
• The suits are here. Why it works: not executives, but executives seen as interchangeable.
• She read it in the trades. Why it works: the industry press, and the speaker belongs to the industry.
• He spent thirty years on the shop floor. Why it works: a place stands in for a whole working life.
• Downing Street declined to comment. Why it works: an address becomes a government, faceless on purpose.

Metonymy vs synecdoche

Synecdoche uses a part for a whole rather than an associate for the thing. All hands on deck is synecdoche, because hands are part of the sailors; the crown refused is metonymy, because a crown is not part of a monarch. The two are commonly treated as one family, and little hangs on the boundary. Neither is a metaphor: a metaphor links things by resemblance, and metonymy links things that really do go together.

Metonymy in fiction

Metonymy is quietly one of the most useful devices a novelist has, because it is the mechanism behind show, don't tell working at the level of a single word. A marriage rendered as two chairs and one cup on the draining board is metonymy. The abstraction never gets named, and the reader arrives at it anyway. Habitual detail works the same way over time: one repeated object standing in for a whole way of living.

Frequently asked questions

What is metonymy?

Metonymy is a figure of speech that refers to something by naming a thing closely connected with it, such as 'the White House said' for the president's staff, or 'the crown' for the monarchy. It is pronounced meh-TON-uh-mee.

What is the difference between metonymy and synecdoche?

Synecdoche uses a part for the whole, such as 'hands' for workers. Metonymy uses something associated with the thing, not a part of it, such as 'the crown' for the monarch. Many handbooks treat synecdoche as a type of metonymy.

What is the difference between metonymy and metaphor?

A metaphor links two unrelated things by resemblance ('the meeting was a corridor'). Metonymy links two things that genuinely go together ('the suits have arrived' for executives), so no comparison is involved.