The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct Answer: Idiom
The figure of speech used in the text is an idiom. An idiom is a phrase or expression that has a figurative meaning which is different from the literal meaning of its individual words. The idiomatic phrase in the quote by Bill Condon, “Problems emerge and some people try to sweep them under the rug,” is “sweep them under the rug.”
Literally, this phrase would mean using a broom to push physical objects, in this case, “problems,” underneath a carpet to hide them from view. However, problems are abstract concepts, not tangible items that can be physically moved or hidden. Therefore, the phrase is not meant to be understood in its literal sense.
The figurative, or idiomatic, meaning of “to sweep something under the rug” is to ignore, conceal, or downplay a problem or an embarrassing situation rather than dealing with it directly. The speaker hopes that if the issue is hidden, it will eventually be forgotten by others. In the context of the quote, Bill Condon is observing that when difficulties or challenges arise, a common human tendency is to try to hide them instead of confronting and solving them.
This expression is a classic example of an idiom because its meaning is culturally understood and cannot be deciphered just by analyzing the words themselves. It is not personification, which would involve giving human qualities to the problems, such as saying “the problems whispered their fears.” The quote describes a human action taken toward problems, using a phrase with a well established, non literal meaning.
