During a recent visit to London, I noticed something about the language used by our guides while touring the storied streets of Westminster. They rarely said “the royal family” or a specific name. Instead, they referred to the collective British monarchy as “the crown” or “the palace.” Of course, we knew what they meant, but someone who isn’t a native English speaker (or hasn’t seen the Netflix show) might be confused. After all, a crown is an object that sits on a head and can’t participate in ceremonies or confer a knighthood. Using the words “crown” or “palace” to refer to the British monarchy is an example of a figure of speech called “metonymy.” When a word is used this way — as a substitute for another word, phrase, or expression that it’s intimately associated with — it’s called a “metonym.”
While on my British vacation, I noticed metonymy everywhere. “Downing Street” serves as a metonym for another influential entity, the British prime minister, or more broadly, the U.K. government, as in, “Citizens are eagerly awaiting news from Downing Street regarding a possible tax hike.” Just down the street is “Scotland Yard,” originally the name of the Metropolitan Police headquarters, now used as shorthand for the police force itself. And “Fleet Street” is the unofficial moniker for the British press. The thoroughfare is no longer the home of many of the newspapers, but in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was the heart of the British publishing industry.
This linguistic phenomenon isn’t unique to British dialogue — locations often serve as metonymic symbols around the globe. “The Vatican,” for instance, succinctly stands in for the Roman Catholic Church, and Aussies refer to their federal government as “Canberra” — the capital city. In the U.S., “Hollywood” refers to the American film industry, and “Nashville” stands in for the country music industry. On the governmental side of things, “Washington” refers to the federal government (or things associated with it, such as lobbyists), “Pentagon” applies to the Department of Defense, and “White House” stands in for the president or their administration.
The term “metonymy” comes from the Greek metōnymia, aptly meaning “change of name.” While many recognizable examples relate to places or institutions, metonyms can replace everyday words. For instance, “red tape” often stands in for a complicated bureaucratic process. This metonymy takes us back to England, referring to the red tape historically used to bind British legal documents. Using metonymy in this way enriches everyday conversations or helps make a point more clearly, and sometimes, it can reveal cultural nuances and shared understandings, too.
