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

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