From literary
terms.com
I. What is
Litotes?
Litotes is an understatement
in which a positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite. This
sounds like a strange definition, but a few examples will make the meaning
clear.
The classic example of litotes is the phrase “not bad.” By negating the word “bad,” you’re saying that something is good, or at least OK. However, in most contexts it’s an understatement. For example: “Not bad! Not bad at all!” The idea here is that someone is actually pretty excited about something – that they think it’s a lot better than just “not bad.”
Litotes (pronounced LIE-tuh-teez or lie-TOE-teez) is a
Greek word meaning “simple, plain.”
II. Examples of Litotes
Example 1
After someone hires you, you might say, “Thank you,
ma’am, you won’t regret it.” The negation is an understatement,
of course – what you really mean is that your boss will be happy with
your performance.
Example 2
Litotes generally gives the expression a biting, ironic tone, for example in
ironic comparisons. If you don’t like someone’s guitar playing, you might say
“He’s hardly a Jimi Hendrix.” Similarly, there’s a whole family of
litotes-infused metaphors for saying that someone is dumb: not the
sharpest tool in the shed; not the brightest crayon in the box; not
the sharpest knife in the drawer.
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Asset Management Awareness Month
Endometriosis Awareness Month
Irish-American Heritage Month
Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month
National Caffeine Awareness Month
National Brain Injury Awareness Month
National Celery Month
National Cerebral Palsy Awareness
Month
National Cheerleading Safety Month
National Craft Month
National Credit Education Month
National Flour Month
National Frozen Food Month
National Kidney Month
National Noodle Month
National Nutrition Month
National Peanut Month
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National Trisomy Awareness Month
National Umbrella Month
National Women’s History Month
National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
National Music in Our Schools Month
National Social Work Month
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Grammatical Terms-This section is for grammar Links Ethopoeia: The Art of Rhetorical Impersonation
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