Question

While Reyna was driving to work, her car engine sputtered, stopped, and started smoking. Reyna pulled over to the side of the road and got out of her car. Suddenly, the engine caught fire and started burning out of control. She called her office to say she was running late. “I’m having a little car trouble,” she told her boss.
Which literary device did the author use in the passage?

paradox

understatement

allegory

symbolism

Answer 1

Answer: Understatement

An understatement is a form of speech that expresses an idea with lesser strength than what would be expected. This type of speech is usually used for emphasis or irony. In this case, the speaker is clearly having serious problems with her car. Therefore, the fact that she refers to this as "a little car trouble" is an understatement.

Answer 2

It would be understatement. She is having more then a little car trouble.