What is metonymy?
A figure of speech where one word or phrase is substituted for another word or phrase that is closely associated with it.
Substitute Smarts: Metonymy in Creative Writing, Grammar and More
Metonymy is a nifty little trick in language where one word or phrase is substituted for another word or phrase that is closely associated with it. This figure of speech is essentially a shorthand way of conveying an idea or concept by referencing a related word, rather than the one you actually mean.
For example, if you say that you're chowing down on 'chocolate' while you're actually eating a mocha latte, you're using metonymy (since mocha contains chocolate, even though it's not pure chocolate).
What makes metonymy so powerful is that it relies on your audience's ability to understand and make connections between different concepts. As such, it's an essential tool in creative writing, where you want to convey big ideas in fresh and interesting ways. Likewise, metonymy is also commonly used in other areas of language, such as grammar (where pronouns and shorthand phrases help keep sentences from becoming unwieldy) and etymology (where words were originally formed by linking closely related concepts).
Here are two examples of metonymy used in literature to substitute a related word or concept for an original term, adding depth and intrigue to a text.
In William Shakespeare's 'As You Like It,' the famous monologue about different stages of life includes the line 'the whining schoolboy...creeping like snail / Unwillingly to school,' which uses metonymy to describe the schoolboy as a 'snail' (since snails move slowly and painstakingly, like whining children).
In one of his most famous sonnets, 'Sonnet 18,' Shakespeare describes his love interest as 'a summer’s day' using metonymy to convey the beauty and brightness of his beloved with the concept of a season.