60 ways to turn a phrase

Two decades or more ago, I studied Creative Writing in college. I majored in it, in fact, and through the intervening years, I’ve published stories too few to mention. A few articles here and there. Three children’s books, but they don’t really count. Still, I enjoy the writing process, creative or not—and boy, are my studies serving me well as I further my education!

Even though I’m not really making a living at it, I still like to consider myself a writer. As such, I’m always looking for ways to improve my craft. The greatest writing course I’d ever taken was “Expository Writing,” which taught me economy in writing (to the point where I could probably re-write the meat of this post in half the word-count, if necessary), and I’m always on the lookout for the next book or bit of advice that will treat me as well as that course once had.

Books like this, Figures of Speech by Arthur Quinn, stand out to me for that very reason, their ability to inspire me towards improving my craft. Even more so, they stand out for their language power. What skill some people have to “turn a phrase”! Another, similar book that comes to mind (as think of it) would be Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss, one which I read and enjoyed years ago but never reviewed.

This witty book by Arthur Quinn is not your average book on writing though. I feel like I should point this out early on, in case you’re a student looking for a good How-To. It’s way more a how-to-read-a-book book than it is a how-to-write-one. Though I finished it just a day or two ago, it’s already impacted how I read a good book…especially the Bible.

Quinn introduces us readers to the full spectrum of figures of speech in English, titling them with names I’ve never heard of. In fact, it’s like reading labels in the medicine cabinet or the ingredients in your Lucky Charms: enthymene, synaloepha, metaplasmus, asterismos, etc. My spellchecker doesn’t even recognize these things, and I’m pretty sure it speaks English!

With the introduction and explanation of each figure of speech, Quinn also shares examples from literature, always starting with the Bible, moving through Shakespeare, and then into other lesser known works. Perhaps my favorite thing about this book is Quinn’s handling of the Scriptures so masterfully as literature, emphasizing on nearly ever page the intensely wise turns of phrase hidden throughout both the Old and New Testaments. These weren’t sloppy bits of parchment thrown together for some make-believe religion. These were carefully crafted messages from God Himself to sinful humanity, and they can (and will) forever stand the test of time.

There’s far too much information in this book for me to try and summarize. I’m not even going to attempt to use any of the figures in this post, because I’d hate to come across as pretentious! Quinn supplies his readers with a glossary of all 60 terms, so I guess your assignment is to grab a copy of this book and learn something new. It’s a great tool to have in your writing/reading arsenal and I highly recommend it for people who are serious about their reading or writing habits. It would be a great tool for poets especially.

©2021 E.T.

Check Out These Books about Reading:

• The Seven Joys of Reading by Mary Wright Plummer (1856)
• The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac by Eugene Field (1895)
• Figures of Speech by Arthur Quinn (1982)
• The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs (2011)
• Lit! by Tony Rienke (2011)
• One for the Books by Joe Queenan (2012)