This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American I was enchanted with the words metonymy and ...

Metaphor and metonymy are usually regarded as figures of speech. Although the terms derive from literary theory, they might be better regarded as fundamental ways of thinking, of deep interest to ...

Dreams have been described as dress rehearsals for real life, opportunities to gratify wishes, and a form of nocturnal therapy. A new theory aims to make sense of it all. Cover of the original ...

At first, the ghost prompting this anthem to middle age appears as both an ancestral spirit and the specter of mortality. Chaun Ballard builds his bluesy genealogy with metonymy and synecdoche, from ...