cacophonyExample: Thegnashing ofteeth andscreeching ofbats kept meawake.euphemismExample:The baseballstruck him ina sensitivearea.colloquialismExample: Herein Philly, welove to eathoagies and allkinds of tastyjawns.asyndetonExample:Get in,cause adistraction,get out.hyperboleExample:The plateexplodedinto a millionpieces.climaxExample:Look at thesky! It’s abird! A plane!Superman!chiasmusExample:Dog ownersown dogsand cats owncat owners.paradoxExample:Youth iswasted onthe young.alliterationExample:She sellsseashells bythe seashore.personificationExample: Thebeautiful valleyspread itsarms out andembraced us.rhetoricalquestionExample: Can wereally know what ourplace in the universeis? We have askedourselves thisquestion formillennia.metanoiaExample: We’llwork on it onSunday. No, let’smake that Monday—it’s the weekendafter, all!oxymoronExample:The treatyled to aviolentpeace.simileExample: Itwas as hotas a desertthis morning.epithetExample: Youneed to listento me and notClueless Kevinover there.parenthesisExample: Theaudience, or atleast the payingmembers of theaudience, enjoyedthe show.expletiveExample: Theeggs were not,in any sense ofthe word,delicious.consonanceExample:Mike likesIke’s bike.connotationExample:This is ahouse, but Iwant ahome.allusionExample:Finishing hismemoir washis whitewhale.synecdocheExample: Thecommander hadan army of 10,000swords. (Thepeople holding theswords werethere, too.)meiosisExample: We mustput an end to thispeculiar institution.(“Peculiarinstitution” is aeuphemism forslavery.)satireExample: WhenSenator Jacksonsaid “numbersdon’t lie,” he forgotthat his first namewasn’t “Numbers.”analogyExample: Life islike a box ofchocolates: younever knowwhat you aregoing to get.eponymExample: Heis theLeBronJames ofchess.antithesisExample:No pain,no gain.metaphorExample:He was awolf amongsheep.understatementExample: Theerupting volcanowas a littleproblem for theneighboring city.apostropheExample: Youhave made afool out of mefor the lasttime, washingmachine!parodyExample: If EdgarAllen Poe had writtenthis speech, it mighthave opened with“Here we are, weakand weary, gatheredon a Monday dreary.”punExample: Thefarmer tried to gethis cows to getalong, but theyinsisted on havinga beef with eachother.onomatopoeiaExample:The thunderboomed andthe lightningcrashed.metonymyExample: Heloved musicfrom the cradle(birth) to thegrave (death).Free!parallelismExample: Foolme once,shame on you.Fool me twice,shame on me.assonanceExample:She and Leesee the beesin the tree.ironyExample: Ashleysaid it was abeautiful daywhile drying offfrom thedrenching rain.anecdoteExample: Five yearsago, I went to thestore and met someclowns. Thoseclowns gave me theadvice I am sharingwith you now.anaphoraExample: Icame, Isaw, Iconquered.anaphorismExample: Apenny savedis a pennyearned.sarcasmExample: Oh,yeah, he is agreat guy. Agreat guy whotook the lastslice of pizza.syllogismExample: Dogsare mammals.Biscuit is a dog.Therefore,Biscuit is amammal.cacophonyExample: Thegnashing ofteeth andscreeching ofbats kept meawake.euphemismExample:The baseballstruck him ina sensitivearea.colloquialismExample: Herein Philly, welove to eathoagies and allkinds of tastyjawns.asyndetonExample:Get in,cause adistraction,get out.hyperboleExample:The plateexplodedinto a millionpieces.climaxExample:Look at thesky! It’s abird! A plane!Superman!chiasmusExample:Dog ownersown dogsand cats owncat owners.paradoxExample:Youth iswasted onthe young.alliterationExample:She sellsseashells bythe seashore.personificationExample: Thebeautiful valleyspread itsarms out andembraced us.rhetoricalquestionExample: Can wereally know what ourplace in the universeis? We have askedourselves thisquestion formillennia.metanoiaExample: We’llwork on it onSunday. No, let’smake that Monday—it’s the weekendafter, all!oxymoronExample:The treatyled to aviolentpeace.simileExample: Itwas as hotas a desertthis morning.epithetExample: Youneed to listento me and notClueless Kevinover there.parenthesisExample: Theaudience, or atleast the payingmembers of theaudience, enjoyedthe show.expletiveExample: Theeggs were not,in any sense ofthe word,delicious.consonanceExample:Mike likesIke’s bike.connotationExample:This is ahouse, but Iwant ahome.allusionExample:Finishing hismemoir washis whitewhale.synecdocheExample: Thecommander hadan army of 10,000swords. (Thepeople holding theswords werethere, too.)meiosisExample: We mustput an end to thispeculiar institution.(“Peculiarinstitution” is aeuphemism forslavery.)satireExample: WhenSenator Jacksonsaid “numbersdon’t lie,” he forgotthat his first namewasn’t “Numbers.”analogyExample: Life islike a box ofchocolates: younever knowwhat you aregoing to get.eponymExample: Heis theLeBronJames ofchess.antithesisExample:No pain,no gain.metaphorExample:He was awolf amongsheep.understatementExample: Theerupting volcanowas a littleproblem for theneighboring city.apostropheExample: Youhave made afool out of mefor the lasttime, washingmachine!parodyExample: If EdgarAllen Poe had writtenthis speech, it mighthave opened with“Here we are, weakand weary, gatheredon a Monday dreary.”punExample: Thefarmer tried to gethis cows to getalong, but theyinsisted on havinga beef with eachother.onomatopoeiaExample:The thunderboomed andthe lightningcrashed.metonymyExample: Heloved musicfrom the cradle(birth) to thegrave (death).Free!parallelismExample: Foolme once,shame on you.Fool me twice,shame on me.assonanceExample:She and Leesee the beesin the tree.ironyExample: Ashleysaid it was abeautiful daywhile drying offfrom thedrenching rain.anecdoteExample: Five yearsago, I went to thestore and met someclowns. Thoseclowns gave me theadvice I am sharingwith you now.anaphoraExample: Icame, Isaw, Iconquered.anaphorismExample: Apenny savedis a pennyearned.sarcasmExample: Oh,yeah, he is agreat guy. Agreat guy whotook the lastslice of pizza.syllogismExample: Dogsare mammals.Biscuit is a dog.Therefore,Biscuit is amammal.

Rhetorical Devices Bingo - Call List

(Print) Use this randomly generated list as your call list when playing the game. There is no need to say the BINGO column name. Place some kind of mark (like an X, a checkmark, a dot, tally mark, etc) on each cell as you announce it, to keep track. You can also cut out each item, place them in a bag and pull words from the bag.


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  1. Example: The gnashing of teeth and screeching of bats kept me awake.
    cacophony
  2. Example: The baseball struck him in a sensitive area.
    euphemism
  3. Example: Here in Philly, we love to eat hoagies and all kinds of tasty jawns.
    colloquialism
  4. Example: Get in, cause a distraction, get out.
    asyndeton
  5. Example: The plate exploded into a million pieces.
    hyperbole
  6. Example: Look at the sky! It’s a bird! A plane! Superman!
    climax
  7. Example: Dog owners own dogs and cats own cat owners.
    chiasmus
  8. Example: Youth is wasted on the young.
    paradox
  9. Example: She sells seashells by the sea shore.
    alliteration
  10. Example: The beautiful valley spread its arms out and embraced us.
    personification
  11. Example: Can we really know what our place in the universe is? We have asked ourselves this question for millennia.
    rhetorical question
  12. Example: We’ll work on it on Sunday. No, let’s make that Monday—it’s the weekend after, all!
    metanoia
  13. Example: The treaty led to a violent peace.
    oxymoron
  14. Example: It was as hot as a desert this morning.
    simile
  15. Example: You need to listen to me and not Clueless Kevin over there.
    epithet
  16. Example: The audience, or at least the paying members of the audience, enjoyed the show.
    parenthesis
  17. Example: The eggs were not, in any sense of the word, delicious.
    expletive
  18. Example: Mike likes Ike’s bike.
    consonance
  19. Example: This is a house, but I want a home.
    connotation
  20. Example: Finishing his memoir was his white whale.
    allusion
  21. Example: The commander had an army of 10,000 swords. (The people holding the swords were there, too.)
    synecdoche
  22. Example: We must put an end to this peculiar institution. (“Peculiar institution” is a euphemism for slavery.)
    meiosis
  23. Example: When Senator Jackson said “numbers don’t lie,” he forgot that his first name wasn’t “Numbers.”
    satire
  24. Example: Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you are going to get.
    analogy
  25. Example: He is the LeBron James of chess.
    eponym
  26. Example: No pain, no gain.
    antithesis
  27. Example: He was a wolf among sheep.
    metaphor
  28. Example: The erupting volcano was a little problem for the neighboring city.
    understatement
  29. Example: You have made a fool out of me for the last time, washing machine!
    apostrophe
  30. Example: If Edgar Allen Poe had written this speech, it might have opened with “Here we are, weak and weary, gathered on a Monday dreary.”
    parody
  31. Example: The farmer tried to get his cows to get along, but they insisted on having a beef with each other.
    pun
  32. Example: The thunder boomed and the lightning crashed.
    onomatopoeia
  33. Example: He loved music from the cradle (birth) to the grave (death).
    metonymy
  34. Free!
  35. Example: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
    parallelism
  36. Example: She and Lee see the bees in the tree.
    assonance
  37. Example: Ashley said it was a beautiful day while drying off from the drenching rain.
    irony
  38. Example: Five years ago, I went to the store and met some clowns. Those clowns gave me the advice I am sharing with you now.
    anecdote
  39. Example: I came, I saw, I conquered.
    anaphora
  40. Example: A penny saved is a penny earned.
    anaphorism
  41. Example: Oh, yeah, he is a great guy. A great guy who took the last slice of pizza.
    sarcasm
  42. Example: Dogs are mammals. Biscuit is a dog. Therefore, Biscuit is a mammal.
    syllogism