| “‘I’m just trying to tell you the new way they’re teachin’ the first grade, stubborn. It’s the Dewey Decimal System.'” (Ch. 2) | malapropism |
| “‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.'” (Ch. 3) | aphorism |
| “He sounded fishy to me. Nobody in Maycomb just went for a walk.” (Ch. 6) | idiom |
| Jem to Scout: “‘I declare to the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl every day!'” (Ch. 6) | irony |
| “…if I didn’t shut up he’d pull every hair out of my head.” (Ch. 11) | hyperbole |
| “Molasses buckets appeared from nowhere, and the ceiling danced with metallic light.” (Ch. 2) | personification |
| “His voice was like the winter wind.” (Ch. 10) | simile |
| “The air was so cold and clear we heard the courthouse clock clank, rattle and strain before it struck the hour.” (Ch. 8) | onomatopoeia |
| “‘…Atticus Finch was the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time.'” (Ch. 10) | metonymy |
| “‘Yawl hush,’ growled Jem, ‘you act like you believe in Hot Steams.'” (Ch. 4) | colloquialism |
| “‘Give you a hand up,’ he muttered to Dill.” (Ch. 6) | synecdoche |
| “‘Can’t everybody play a Jew’s Harp.'” (Ch. 10) | litotes |
| “‘He’s gonna make me some invisible ink, and I’m gonna write to Dill in it.'” (Ch. 9) | oxymoron |
| “Mr. Avery said it was written on the Rosetta Stone that when children disobeyed their parents, smoked cigarettes and made war on each other, the seasons would change…” (Ch. 8) | allusion |
| “…I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life.” (Ch. 9) | metaphor |
| assuage | to make something unpleasant less severe |
| chattels | slaves, personal property |
| dictum | A formal or authoritative statement |
| imprudent | not showing care for the consequences of an action; rash |
| covey | small group |
| entailment | a legal situation regarding the use of inherited property, in TKAM the Cunninghams have land they cannot sell |
| flinty | (adjective) unfeeling; stern; showing lack of emotion |
| disapprobation | strong disapproval, typically on moral grounds |
| I declare if I will | Slang for “I won’t” |
| quelling | subdue, calm, suppress |
| edify | to instruct morally and spiritually |
| cleaved | stuck -or- split, sever |
To Kill a Mockingbird Figurative Language and Vocabulary Ch. 1-7
January 31, 2020