A synecdoche can either be when you use a part to represent the whole, or conversely use the whole to represent a part
I think it’s valid to consider the US government a part of the US. Thus, referring to the US government when saying that the US did something is a synecdoche
No, it's the government that commits it.
People use the country = government metaphor as a shortcut for communication, but this one takes it further than usual.
> country = government metaphor
This will probably never be particularly useful, but this figure of speech is a "synecdoche" (a "metonymy" instead of a "metaphor")
As long as we’re being pedantic, synecdoche means referring to part as the whole (nice wheels = car, nice threads = clothes).
Saying the US did something when referring to the government is metonymy, but not synecdoche.
A synecdoche can either be when you use a part to represent the whole, or conversely use the whole to represent a part
I think it’s valid to consider the US government a part of the US. Thus, referring to the US government when saying that the US did something is a synecdoche
Extradition by tectonic subduction