ShmoopTube

00:04

[Coop and Dino singing]

00:13

In general, people tend to say, more or less, what they mean. [Men waiting at a restroom door]

00:17

Especially when they want something.

00:19

So if someone says they want a hammer, they probably want a hammer.

00:23

If they ask for a can of soda, it's safe to assume… you know, they'd like a can of soda. [Waiter approaches table with two girls]

00:27

But if someone says they want a hand, they probably don't want you to give them a literal hand.

00:31

Not unless you’re working on a prop shop or building a haunted house.

00:35

Most of the time when a person says something that would be strange to treat literally,

00:39

we've entered into the realm of Figurative Language. Oo-oo-oo. [Girl enters figurative language realm]

00:44

Figurative language is the use of words that mean something other than their literal meanings. [Coop explaining figurative language]

00:49

There are all sorts of tools used in figurative language, including similes, metaphors, and idioms.

00:55

And, no, that last one is not an insult.

00:57

Call someone an idiom and you'll be the one who ends up sounding like a dummy. [People pointing to a dummy sat on a bench]

01:01

So consider the sentence: "America is a melting pot."

01:05

We don't mean that America is literally a cooking apparatus.

01:08

Even if it can feel that way in certain parts of the South.

01:11

Phew! It is hot!

01:12

Instead, we're using figurative language. The melting pot is a metaphor for the way [Melting pot cooking food and national flags appear]

01:16

in which so many people from so many different backgrounds mix together in America to create

01:20

one common culture.

01:22

Which is great, but not exactly helpful if you’re in the mood for fondue.

01:26

Here's another one: "This classroom is like a circus."

01:29

Unless you’re in clown college,

01:31

this sentence probably isn’t in reference to the tightrope in the middle of the classroom. [Boy balancing on a tightrope in class]

01:35

Again, it's a case of figurative language, a simile comparing a wild and chaotic classroom

01:40

to a different wild and chaotic thing, a circus.

01:43

Why is this one a simile when the last example was a metaphor?

01:47

Well because we may something is something else, even if we actually don't mean it literally, it's a metaphor.

01:53

When we use a comparing word like "like" or "as" it's a simile.

01:58

Okay. Finally, let's think about the sentence: "It's raining cats and dogs."

02:02

We wouldn't utter this this sentence in the incredibly rare instances of a downpour of household pets. [Woman standing outside and cats and dogs fall from the sky]

02:07

You guessed it: it's figurative language. "It's raining cats and dogs" is an idiom:

02:12

a group of words that have an established meaning. [Dino discussing idioms]

02:14

People use the phrase all the time and it's implication is common knowledge.

02:18

In this case, it just means a heavy rain. So no need to worry about Fluffy.

02:22

We can even use figurative language without really meaning to.

02:25

You've probably heard the expression "give me a hand" so often that

02:28

you automatically understand that it means asking for help rather than asking for five actual fingers. [Man on a ladder and girl appears holding a hand]

02:34

Which is a huge relief to fingers everywhere.

Full Transcript