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MOS Prize 9th Jan meronym or metonym

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chilliman | 16:03 Mon 17th Jan 2011 | Quizzes & Puzzles
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Is anyone else who put "meronym" instead of "metonym", annoyed, confused etc?
The clue was
" a word for a part of something which is used to mean the whole thing."

Apparently "finger" is a meronym of "hand" which is part of the whole, Whereas "westminster" is a metonym of "government of UK", similar to a metaphor.
Anyone agree?
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I do not participate in this competition, but I saw the debate going backwards and forwards. I believe that the clue was more a definition of "synecdoche" than "metonym". I believe that Metonym more properly is a substitute, such as "the crown" referring to the monarchy. Meronym is just part of the whole but does not intend to represent the whole, such as "sleeve" to "shirt.
I'm not sure if this helps!
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Thanks for your interest. There is some fascinating reading on this subject - meronym, metonym, metaphor and synecdoche. The referee's decision is final though so I didn't win last week!
( Now, is "referee" a metonym or a meronym?!!)

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MOS Prize 9th Jan meronym or metonym

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