Lesson R&S 91
Figurative Language
The following paragraph is an opening to a short story. There aren’t many words that an advanced student won’t recognize, but there is considerable figurative language.
As I crawled along the highway, I was having second thoughts about staying with Marcus. I’d been in two minds about going in the first place, but it was sweet of him to invite me, and I wasn’t tied up, so I said, ‘Yes.’ But now it dawned on me that he may have had an ulterior motive: he wanted to go out with me! How could I be so thick ?
recognize figurative
language crawled
thoughts tied up
dawned ulterior
motive thick
The figurative use of crawl is used to describe traffic moving slowly. Do you realize that have second thoughts means you doubt an earlier decision you made? When you want to do something, and don’t want to do something, it means you are in two minds. Do you know that sweet also means kind? And that dawn (followed by on) means I suddenly became aware of something for the first time? Tied up means you are busy with something that prevents you from leaving. Lastly, thick (or thick-headed) means stupid!