LessonsPurposes of Simile: Possibility, Condition, Degree, Beautification, Disfigurement and ReversalQuiz

AspectReversed similePreoccupationCentral goalInvert the usual benchmark to assert excellenceReveal intense attention or needEffectHyperbolic superiorityInterest, longing or urgent concernTypical instanceDawn likened to a praised faceHungry observer likening a face to a loaf

Both involve a purpose directed toward the comparison term, yet for different reasons. Reversal suggests exceptional superiority; preoccupation exposes the speaker's inward priorities. Calling them both simply “exaggeration” would erase an important distinction between two rhetorical operations.

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Reversal versus preoccupation

Purposes of Simile: Possibility, Condition, Degree, Beautification, Disfigurement and Reversal

AspectReversed similePreoccupationCentral goalInvert the usual benchmark to assert excellenceReveal intense attention or needEffectHyperbolic superiorityInterest, longing or urgent concernTypical instanceDawn likened to a praised faceHungry observer likening a face to a loaf

Both involve a purpose directed toward the comparison term, yet for different reasons. Reversal suggests exceptional superiority; preoccupation exposes the speaker's inward priorities. Calling them both simply “exaggeration” would erase an important distinction between two rhetorical operations.