what kind of figurative language is this "the salsa set my mouth on fire

Answer 1

I would say it’s metaphorical, though I understand the “spiciness” of chilis is actually mild chemical burns to mucous membranes. It’s not going to produce flames, so indeed the expression is hyperbolic, but the main device is the metaphor of fire.

Answer 2

Hello,

"The salsa set my mouth on fire" would be an example of a hyperbolic expression. Whenever you think of a hyperbole, always think of something that is overly exaggerated. Since the salsa doesn't LITERALLY set someone's mouth on fire, we can associate the phrase with sensory language since it is describing one of the 5 senses; touch (hot).

Other examples of hyperbolic expressions are:

"I'm so hungry, I can eat an entire horse for dinner" <----Although one may be hungry, it's not possible for them to eat an entire horse, especially in one sitting! That animal is much, much larger than humans!

"Doing homework is going to be the death of me" <----Although homework may be deathly boring, engaging and completing assignments won't lead to death (stress-related triggers and other things could result from stress of homework, but the literal, physical act won't kill you)

Answer 3

Well, maybe...

Hyperbole is the name for exaggeration, but really the device here is metaphor, talking about salsa as if it were fire.

You were probably taught that a simile is a comparison involving "like" or "as," while a metaphor is a comparison without "like" or "as." That's true. So Forrest Gump's

"life is like a box of chocolates" is a simile, while Bob Dylan's "time is a jet plane" is a metaphor. But you don't actually need to name both things in the sentence to have a metaphor. So when we talk about Washington and Adams and Hamilton as "founding fathers," that's metaphorical language too, even if we don't explicitly say, "the nation is a family."

So that's my pitch. If this were hyperbole but not metaphor, it would say, "this salsa is the spiciest ever made in the history of the world." But if it's doing something that salsa doesn't really do, like set things on fire, that's metaphor.

Answer 4

Hello,

This would be an example of Hyperbole. Hyperbole is an exaggeration used to add emphasis. In this case, the salsa did not literally set their mouth on fire, but it is so spicy/hot that they would describe it that way.

Answer 5

I would say the sentence demonstrates hyperbole, exaggerating an idea for the sake of emphasis