Looking at Onomatopoeia, Simile, and Collective Nouns, and my Delusional Dictionary. For definitions of those, click here to read the introductory post to the series.

This week’s words: Creak, Croak, Blind as a bat, Deaf as a post, Equivocation of politicians, Photographer.

Onomatopoeia: creak, croak

‘Here in the UK we heard the creak as our Government descended into insanity, the croak of the death throes of a leader’s term of office.’

Sorry to be political, but we’re in an ever-deepening crisis here!

Simile: blind as a bat, deaf as a post

‘Mrs May, blind as a bat to all about her, deaf as a post to all entreaties for sanity, as she plunges into a spiral of self-destruction, takes with her all hope of a negotiated settlement to a problem that should never have arisen.’

And similes to avoid because they’re clichés?

The two similes I’ve used above are clichés. I used them because they’re pertinent; appropriate to the surreal nature of the crisis referred to. Politicians love their clichés, and employing them in this way adds a layer of sarcasm to the statement.

Collective Nouns: Equivocation of politicians

Many politicians are a personification of equivocation, which is the use of ambiguous words and expressions in order to mislead, so this is a particularly apposite collective noun.

Delusional Dictionary:

Photographer: any person owning a smartphone; someone who takes pictures of all their meals; a person who prefers self-portraits to the view before them; a visitor to an event or attraction who spends the entire time recording the performance rather than actually enjoying it.

For those learning English as a language, there’s a useful guide to pronunciation here, and Facebook hosts a great group you can join here.

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