The lawyer addressed the bench illustrates

Analyze the question: "The lawyer addressed the bench." We need the figure of speech. Here, "the bench" does not mean the physical seat. It stands for the judge or judges.

Explain the concept:

• Simile: compares two things using "like" or "as" (e.g., "brave as a lion").
• Oxymoron: joins two contradictory terms (e.g., "deafening silence").
• Alliteration: repeats the same initial consonant sound in nearby words (e.g., "Peter picked pepper").
• Metonymy: replaces a thing's name with something closely associated with it (e.g., "the crown" for the king, "the press" for journalists).

Solution:

1. There is no "like" or "as", so it is not a simile (A).
2. There are no contradictory terms, so it is not an oxymoron (B).
3. The words "lawyer addressed the bench" do not repeat an initial sound in any meaningful pattern, so it is not alliteration (C).
4. "The bench" is the seat where judges sit. It is used to represent the judge or the court. Substituting an associated object for the person or institution is metonymy.

Answer: D. metonymy.

Tip: Ask yourself, "Is the word naming something by a closely linked object?" Examples are "the bench" for judges, "the throne" for a king, and "the bar" for lawyers. If so, it is metonymy. If it compares using "like" or "as", it is simile.