| word | original use | metonymic use |
| General |
| aggregation | coming together | result of coming together; those who come together |
| assembly | coming together | result of coming together; those who come together |
| bar | the bar in a courtroom that separates the judges and lawyers from the laypeople | all the lawyers licensed to practice law in a certain court or jurisdiction. |
| bench | the location in a courtroom where a judge sits when presiding over court | all the judges of a court or jurisdiction; members of a judiciary; the presiding officer (judge) in a court. |
| china | China, the country | Chinese porcelain or other types of ceramic |
| city hall | a city's chief administrative building | city government or government in general (Common usage in axiom, "You can't fight city hall.") |
| congregation | coming together | result of coming together; those who come together |
| court | seeking favor | assembly of those seeking favor; the president of the court ("judge") |
| damages | destructive effects | money paid in compensation |
| dish | an item of crockery | a course (in dining) |
| jigsaw | cutting tool | jigsaw puzzle |
| microwave | electromagnetic wave of wavelength 1 mm to 1 m | microwave oven |
| militia | military or defense activity | those engaged in or subject to being required to engage in defense activity |
| mortal | subject to death | human |
| movement | motion, change in position | result of motion or change; those who move or change |
| police | make orderly (lawful) | law enforcers |
| press | printing press | the news media |
| service | doing for others | those who serve (especially military) |
| sweat | perspiration | hard work |
| tongue | oral muscle | a language or dialect |
| Viking | raiding | those who raid (especially of Scandinavian origin) |
| word | a unit of language | a promise (to give/keep/break one's word); a conversation (to have a word with) |
| American |
| Washington | capital of the United States | the United States federal government |
| The White House | Official residence of the President of the United States | the President and staff |
| Capitol Hill | The neighborhood in which the United States Capitol is located | the United States Congress |
| The Pentagon | building in Arlington, Virginia that houses… | the United States Department of Defense |
| Foggy Bottom | neighborhood in Washington, D.C. that houses… | the United States Department of State |
| Langley | town in the commonwealth of Virginia | the Central Intelligence Agency, whose headquarters are in this town |
| Quantico | town in Virginia that houses the main training center for… | the Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| Annapolis | the capital of the state of Maryland | the United States Naval Academy, which is located there |
| West Point | a United States Army base in the state of New York | the United States Military Academy, located on this base |
| K Street | A street in central Washington, D.C. | The U.S. lobbying industry, many of whose firms have offices on this street |
| Inside the Beltway | refers to the Capital Beltway, a highway which surrounds Washington, DC and its suburbs | the U.S. political system |
| Broadway | street in New York City | Broadway theatre in particular, and American theatre in general |
| Wall Street | street in New York City | the United States financial markets, of which Wall Street is the largest center |
| Madison Avenue | a street in New York City | the United States advertising industry |
| Seventh Avenue | a street in New York City | the United States fashion industry |
| Cooperstown | a village in upstate New York | the (U.S.) Baseball Hall of Fame, located in this community |
| Hollywood | District of Los Angeles, California, historically the primary center of… | the American film industry |
| Silicon Valley | geographic region of the San Francisco Bay Area | all the high-tech companies located in the area |
| Cupertino | a city in the state of California | Apple Inc., which is headquartered there |
| Redmond | a city in the state of Washington | Microsoft Corporation, which is headquartered there |
| Sand Hill Road | a road in Menlo Park, California | Used to refer to some of the biggest Venture Capital firms in Silicon Valley, many of whose offices are located along this road. |
| Detroit | largest city in the state of Michigan | the United States automobile industry, which is centered in the Detroit area |
| Houston | largest city in the state of Texas | NASA Mission Control, from the phrase "Houston, we've had a problem" |
| Cape Canaveral | a geographic feature in the state of Florida near the… | NASA Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| Beacon Hill | a neighborhood within Boston | broadly, the Massachusetts state government (I work on Beacon Hill); specifically (esp. in media), the legislature of the Commonwealth. |
| Nashville | the capital of the state of Tennessee | the country music industry, which has strong ties to Nashville |
| Smith Hill | a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island | the Rhode Island state government and the Rhode Island General Assembly |
| most U.S. state capital cities | the state capital | the state government (known exceptions include Annapolis, Boston and Nashville, as noted elsewhere) |
| the people | human beings, or a specific group thereof | some state governments in criminal prosecution matters, e.g., "People (of the State of Michigan) versus X", as opposed to "State (of Ohio) versus Y" |
| Canadian |
| The Crown | The monarch | Usually used in court as the federal or provincial government as in "The crown Versus …" |
| 24 Sussex Drive | Official residence of the Prime Minister | the Canadian Prime Minister and his or her staff |
| Rideau Hall | Official residence of the Governor General | the Canadian Governor General and his/her staff |
| Bay Street | street in Toronto | the Canadian financial markets, historically centred on Bay Street |
| Ottawa | capital of Canada | the Canadian federal government |
| Queen's Park | The University of Toronto-owned park that houses… | the Government of Ontario |
| British |
| England | A country within the United Kingdom | the United Kingdom as a whole |
| The Crown | A monarch's headwear | the British monarchy |
| The Palace | Buckingham Palace | The Royal Household |
| Clarence House | London palace where one finds… | The Household of The Prince of Wales |
| Downing Street or "Number 10" | Official residence of the Prime Minister[1] | the British Prime Minister and his or her staff |
| Whitehall | A neighborhood of London in which may be found… | the offices of the British government's senior bureaucrats |
| The City | The City of London | the British financial markets, historically centred in The City |
| Westminster | The City of Westminster in London | The Parliament of the United Kingdom, located in Westminster. |
| Harley Street | A street in the City of Westminster, home to a high concentration of dentists, surgeons and physicians | the British private medical industry |
| Holyrood | A district in Edinburgh, where you can find… | the Scottish Parliament |
| Fleet Street | A street in London which was the original location of much of… | the British newspaper industry |
| Scotland Yard | Name of the original headquarters of… | the Metropolitan Police |
| Stormont | Headquarters of… | the devolved administration in Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Executive or Northern Ireland Assembly. |
| Thames House | Headquarters of… | the British Security Services |
| Vauxhall Cross | Headquarters of… | the Secret Intelligence Service (aka MI6) |
| P45 | A tax form issued when an employee leaves employment | termination of employment |
| UB40 | A former form enabling a person to claim unemployment benefit (now Jobseeker's Allowance) | An unemployed person |
| French |
| L'Élysée | The Élysée Palace, official residence of… | the French president and his or her staff |
| Matignon | The Hôtel Matignon, official residence of… | the French prime minister and his or her staff |
| Quai d'Orsay | a street in Paris where ... | the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has its offices |
| European |
| Berlaymont | The building housing… | the European Commission |
| Brussels | the capital city of Belgium, also home to most of the… | Institutions of the European Union |
| Necessidades | The Palace of Necessidades, which is the home of the... | Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Portugal |
| Strasbourg | Alsatian city, which is the official seat of the… | European Parliament |
| Rest of the world |
| The Kremlin | A fortified complex in Moscow | Formerly the Soviet government; used today to a lesser extent for the Russian government |
| Kasumigaseki | A district in Chiyoda, Tokyo where most of the Japanese cabinet ministry offices are located | The Japanese bureaucracy |
| Nagata-chō | A ward in Tokyo which houses the offices of the Prime Minister of Japan and the National Diet building | The Japanese government and legislature |
| Zion | a mountain/fortress in Jerusalem | the city of Jerusalem and more often, the land of Israel in general |
| The Beehive | A building in Wellington which houses the offices of the Prime Minister of New Zealand and his or her Cabinet | the Government of New Zealand in general |
| Gulag | chief administration of the Soviet forced labour camps | the prison camps it administered |
| Malacañang | the Philippine presidential palace in Manila | the President of the Philippines |
| Rome, Holy See, or The Vatican | official residence of | the Pope and Curia in Rome, or the Roman Catholic Church |
| Casa Rosada | Official residence of the President of Argentina | the executive branch of the Argentine government |
| any country's capital city | the country's capital | that country's government in general, and often, as the whole country itself |
| Istana | Indonesian and Malay word for palace | the President of Indonesia |
| Zhongnanhai | A building complex in Beijing | The leadership of the People's Republic of China |
| Toompea | A limestone hill in Tallinn, Estonia | The Government and Parliament of Estonia |
