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Name of this lyrical device comparing oneself to something that's described by the same word, but in another sense of the word?

English Language & Usage Asked on August 29, 2021

Warning: The examples contain some offensive words, but I believe that is not against the rules here?

Lately I’ve been listening a lot to a certain hip-hop album, in which almost every track uses a certain lyrical device a lot. Instead of trying to describe it further than I already do in the title, I’ll go straight to examples.

I’ve got bars for days, like a custody cell.

Source. The rapper is talking about two different types of bars. First his raps, then the physical bars of a jail cell.

Every fucking album is banging like a Tinder-match

Source. He says his albums are "banging" as in musically pleasing, but in the sense of the Tinder-match, the word means sexual intercourse.

I jam like a bullet stuck in the barrel

Source. When he says he jams, he means musically, while the bullet is physically jammed in the barrel.

My woman puts on the rubber faster than a pit stop

Source. In the first sense he means a condom, in the second sense he means rubber tyres on a Formula 1 car.

I’m harder to hit than a porcupine pussy.

Source. In the first sense he means "hit" as in some sort of attack or aggressive action, in the second sense he means sexual intercourse.

I stay in the hood like Kenny

Source. In his own case, he means his neighbourhood, as in the slang term "hood". In the latter sense he is talking about hood as the part of a jacket that covers the head, referring to the fictional character from South Park who always wears a hood.

I think that amount of examples (there are countless more from the album, and from other rappers as well) is enough to convey what I mean.

What is the name of this lyrical device? I believe it is somewhat common in Hip Hop, and has been for decades. Does it have a name outside of Hip Hop as well, perhaps in poetry or literature?

2 Answers

This rhetorical device is called "zeugma" (rhetorical device).

Zeugma involves the linking of two or more words or phrases that occupy the same position in a sentence to another word or phrase in the same sentence. This can take advantage of the latter word having multiple meanings depending on context to create a clever use of language that can make the sentence and the claim thus advanced more eloquent and persuasive.

He caught the train and a bad cold.
This shirt attracts everything but men.
I held my breath and the door for you.

Correct answer by LPH on August 29, 2021

I reckon you are looking for this word— double entendre

a word or expression capable of two interpretations with one usually risqué

flirty talk full of double entendres

[Merriam-Webster]

Answered by user57854437 on August 29, 2021

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