“Metonymy” is a word for a certain kind of figurative language that you likely use every day. It’s when the name of one thing is used for another that it may be expected to suggest. You might say you spent the afternoon reading Hemingway — “Hemingway” refers not to the man himself but instead to one of his books. Another common example of metonymy is using a city name to refer to a sports team. Saying you’re going to see Philadelphia play doesn’t mean you’re going to watch the city itself, but it might mean the Eagles football team (or the Phillies, Flyers, or Sixers). “Metonymy” comes from the Greek “metōnumia,” which translates literally as “change of name.”