Dr. Seuss Character, Literary Device, or Body Part?

The name basically gives it away.

Are the following items Dr. Seuss characters, literary devices, or body parts?

Polyptoton

Jertain

Xiphoid Process

Epistrophe

Seersucker

Wocket

Tmesis

Ileum

Malleolus

Nerkle

Synecdoche

Sneedle

Zeugma

Wumbus

Anaphora

Crepitus

Diacope

Zonule of Zinn

ANSWER KEY

Polyptoton — Literary device. This occurs when words derived from a similar root are placed together in a sentence.

Jertain — Dr. Seuss character.

Xiphoid Process — Body part. It's the bottom extension of the sternum.

Epistrophe — Literary device. Epistrophe occurs when the same word or phrase is repeated at the end of several successive lines.

Seersucker — Dr. Seuss character, although this word also refers to a fabric.

Wocket — Dr. Seuss character.

Tmesis — Literary device. Tmesis is the insertion of a word to break up another word. For instance, the phrase "a whole nother" is an example of tmesis, if grammatically iffy tmesis, because the word "another" is being broken into two by the insertion of the word "whole."

Ileum — Body part. The ileum is the final section of the small intestine.

Malleolus — Also a body part. The malleolus is the bump on each side of the ankle joint.

Nerkle — Dr. Seuss character.

Synecdoche — Literary device. Synecdoche refers to a part of something being used to represent the whole. "All hands on deck" would be an example: hands are used to represent people. "Boots on the ground" is another example.

Sneedle — Dr. Seuss character.

Zeugma — Literary device. This occurs when a verb or adjective is used to join or modify two different parts of the same sentence, often with different meanings. "She broke his car and his heart" would be an example, as the verb "broke" refers literally to the car and figuratively to the heart.

Wumbus — Dr. Seuss character.

Anaphora — Literary device; the opposite of epistrophe. When the same word or phrase is used at the beginning of successive lines, this is called anaphora.

Crepitus — Okay, this wasn't completely fair. This isn't really a body part — rather, it's a sound or sensation that occurs during joint movement. It relates to anatomy but doesn't technically fit into any of the categories. Sorry! If you were both discerning enough to realize and prescriptive enough to react emotionally, commendations: you are a true grammarian.

Diacope — Literary device. It's also called a "word sandwich," as it occurs when the same word is placed before and after a phrase. The famous "Run, Forrest, run" is an example of diacope.

 Zonule of Zinn — Dr. Seu Got you, didn't we? The zonule of Zinn is actually a body part! It's found in the eye! 

Naming conventions are quite fascinating, no? We hope you learned something! Valedictions!