Meiosis (figure of speech)
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Meiosis is a figure of speech which intentionally understates something or implies that it is less in significance, size, than it really is. It is a form of litotes, but where litotes is often uses understatement to amplify the importance of something, meiosis aims to make its subject appear smaller. For example, a lawyer defending a schoolboy who has set fire to his school, might call the act of arson, a "prank."
It is derived from the Greek mei-o-o (“to make smaller”, "to diminish").
Meiosis is also a method of cell division. See meiosis
Examples
- The Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail after having all his limbs amputated, calls his wounds "just a flesh wound"
- W. C. Fields enters a palatial home, glances up at the ceiling two stories above, and says "Nice teepee."