This site has definition with each term, and examples
http://www.nt.armstrong.edu/term1.htm
Sample:
"antonomasia
Substitution of a title, epithet, or descriptive phrase for a proper name (or of a personal
name for a common name) to designate a member of a group or class.
(Pronunciation: "an toe no MAS ya") [Gk. "naming instead"]
Calling a lover "Casanova," a man in love "Romeo," an office worker "Dilbert,"
Elvis Presley "the King," Bill Clinton "the Comeback Kid," or Horace Rumpole's wife
"She Who Must Be Obeyed."

Pretty good examples there, Bill. This one caught my eye:

distinctio
Explicit references to various meanings of a word-usually for the purpose of removing ambiguities.
"If by light you mean 'clear,' I am glad you do see them; if by light you mean of 'no weight,' I am sorry you do not feel them." (Hoskyns)
"It depends on what the meaning of the word is is. If is means 'and never has been,' that is one thing. If it means 'there is none,' that was a completely true statement."
(Bill Clinton, Grand Jury testimony)

From the GrandMaster of stinky distinctions. Those two made no sense to me.

Since "aporia" is Today's Word, the definition in this site is worth posting:

aporia
The expression of real or simulated doubt or perplexity. In the terminology of deconstruction,
aporia is a final impasse or paradox-the site at which the text most obviously undermines its
own rhetorical structure, dismantles, or deconstructs itself.
[Gk. "without passage"]
"A virginal air, large blue eyes very soulful and appealing, a dazzling fair skin, a supple and
resilient body, a touching voice, teeth of ivory and the loveliest blond hair--there you have
a sketch of this charming creature whose naive graces and delicate traits are beyond our
power to describe." (Marquis De Sade)

He has described her physique, but feels unable to describe her personality. Perhaps being
Marquis De Sade, he is too full of fantasies about ravishing her body to pay attention to
her mental attainments. Though he would ravish them also.

For comparison, from Silva Rhetoricae:
Deliberating with oneself as though in doubt over some
matter; asking oneself (or rhetorically asking one's hearers)
what is the best or appropriate way to approach something.

Examples

Where shall I begin to describe her wisdom? In her knowledge of
facts? In her ability to synthesize diverse matters? In her capacity to
articulate complex ideas simply?

This, The expression of real or simulated doubt or perplexity is clear to me (I think). However, the following sentence is not: In the terminology of deconstruction, aporia is a final impasse or paradox-the site at which the text most obviously undermines its
own rhetorical structure, dismantles, or deconstructs itself. Would that be, for ex., if a lover declares himself to be enraptured by his partner's mind, but in explaining this rapture only describes physical attributes?
I have never had a good grasp of what rhetoric is, anyway.

In reply to:

---

I have never had a good grasp of what rhetoric is, anyway.

---

Part of the problem is the meaning of the term has undergone changes in emphasis. Rhetoric can be a very formal, quite complex study as are other formal classical studies, such as ethics. But the term rhetoric can simply mean the language you use to persuade or influence whoever your audience is.

Then there are the linguistic terms that are subsumed by rhetoric, such as ones that appear on the site wwh provided and other such rhetoric sites. These terms are tools of the trade -- tricks that enable the speaker or writer to catch your ear and sometimes your mind. Some of them are pretty hard to use and require practice and application. We had a discussion this week about enthymemes, the rhetorical syllogisms Aristotle examines in his Rhetoric. Those syllogisms, arranged in many ways as Aristotle describes them, with their parts left out present a challenging study of how thought and language may be arranged, again with the purpose of catching the audience's ear, thought process, and, finally, being persuaded to the speaker's view.

So, there's really overall rhetoric--a very involved study of the art of persuasion, with in-depth examination of audience, speech, the speaker's/writer's persona, the time in which the speech is given, and so on.

Then there's rhetoric used loosely--just you own kind of language that you use. Or the overall language used by people in a field: "I feel your pain." [And someone hearing this leaning over to a friend and responding, "I can't stand his rhetoric."]

And then there's rhetorical terms--the tools of the trade that have been classified.

We use the term a lot more broadly and loosely today than it was used a century ago.

Easily the most frequent use of the word rhetoric I encounter:

"It's a rhetorical question"

- taken to meant that the speaker isn't expecting an answer. But nowadays it often means that the speaker isn't about to answer the question for the audience, and neither is the speaker expecting others to think about the question. Whacky, really.

I think [present-day] people who ask rhetorical questions are often asking themselves - but still without expecting an answer.

"Why do I keep doing these things?"

It's more of an exclamation, really. Maybe it should be interrobanged.

What would the adjectival form of interrobang be, BTW?
And this isn't a rhetorical question.

What would the adjectival form of interrobang be, BTW?


Super(int)er(r)o(ban)gatory.

dxb.

Super(int)er(r)o(ban)gatory



(Super) *rimshot, I believe, David!

antihimera
(Pronounced "an tee HI mer a")
Substitution of one part of speech for another.
"I'll unhair thy head." (Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra)

In which we discover that the verbing of nouns is a rhetorical device.

Funny I should read this post this morning, after attempting to listen to Bush's speech to the UN and commenting "His rhetoric puts me to sleep. SKNNZZZZZZZZKXXXXXXXXXX!" I got a nice nap in, but.

The link in first post is only for letter A. Here is a more complete one, with lots of good
stuff about poetry:http://www.poeticbyway.com/glossary.html

"His rhetoric puts me to sleep..."

Yes FB, in everyday speech we don't often talk about rhetoric in a complimentary way. When was the last time you heard: "His rhetoric was brilliant" for instance?

Just possibly "His use of rhetoric was clever", s'pose.