When tall is tall and short is short [written]

[onesavage]

Can anyone recall the term used for the effect of writing the word e.g. tall, but 4" in height (relative to say 1")? Same could be done for "short" - other direction...







"

[nonsense]

Litotes

Litotes is understatement whereby you convey what you mean by saying the opposite...as when you call the 6'10" basketball player "Shorty" or the two-month-old infant "Tiger."

"How lovely!" she thumped,
As she glanced at the dump,
"So fragrant, so neat and so--nice.
I hadn't realized before
That they had a free store
And a luxury home for the mice."


Oxymoron

Oxymoron occurs when two apparently contradictory terms are brought together to form a sharper perception. You know all about it--why falling in love is "bitter-sweet."

"Run slowly," she warned,
"Or you'll fall up the hill,
And you'll make a nice mess of your face!"
So like a wise fool,
I rushed snail-like to school,
Displaying rhinoceros grace.


(From a handout I got in 6th grade English class many years ago.)

If you mean relatively or comparatively tall, that's a different matter...