Choose the correct figure of speech used in the following sentence:
He has many mouths to feed.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Synecdoche
Synecdoche:
- Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole (or, less often, the whole for a part).
- "Mouths" are a part of each person; here they stand for the people he has to provide food for.
- So "He has many mouths to feed" means he has many dependants, such as family members, to support.
Example: The captain shouted, "All hands on deck!"
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Euphemism — Incorrect. A euphemism is a mild word used in place of a harsh or unpleasant one; nothing unpleasant is softened here.
Example: Her grandfather passed away last year.
Option 3: Oxymoron — Incorrect. An oxymoron puts two opposite words side by side; the sentence has no such pair.
Example: There was a deafening silence in the hall.
Option 4: Apostrophe — Incorrect. Apostrophe is addressing an absent person, an idea or a thing as if it could hear; the sentence addresses no one.
Example: "O Death, where is thy sting?"