Comment by dummydummy1234

4 months ago

Can a country commit a crime?

No, it's the government that commits it.

People use the country = government metaphor as a shortcut for communication, but this one takes it further than usual.

  • > country = government metaphor

    This will probably never be particularly useful, but this figure of speech is a "synecdoche" (a "metonymy" instead of a "metaphor")

    • As long as we’re being pedantic, synecdoche means referring to part as the whole (nice wheels = car, nice threads = clothes).

      Saying the US did something when referring to the government is metonymy, but not synecdoche.

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