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      • Mixed metaphors are when two or more metaphors are used in the same sentence or phrase, but they do not work well together. This can create confusion and make the sentence difficult to understand. For example, “He’s a loose cannon who always hits the nail on the head.”
  1. Jun 21, 2022 · Mixed Metaphors Explained: 8 Examples of Mixed Metaphors. A well-crafted metaphor uses consistent imagery ("hitting the nail on the head”); when you start mixing imagery ("hitting the nail on the nose"), you can create a type of malapropism known as a mixed metaphor.

  2. Jun 6, 2019 · A mixed metaphor is a succession of incongruous or ludicrous comparisons. Also known—playfully—as a mixaphor. Although many style guides condemn the use of mixed metaphors, in practice most of the objectionable combinations (as in the examples below) are actually clichés or dead metaphors.

    • Richard Nordquist
  3. Mixed metaphors occur when two different metaphors lose their combined connotation and instead produce an unclear or ridiculous context. People get crossed up with such by not having a proper knowledge which result on to less communication.

    • Using Mixed Metaphors
    • Examples of Mixed Metaphors
    • Sources

    In "Garner's Modern American Usage", Bryan A. Garner offers this classic example of a mixed metaphor from a speech by Boyle Roche in the Irish Parliament: This sort of mixed metaphor may occur when a speaker is so familiar with the figurative sense of a phrase ("smell a rat," "nip in the bud") that he fails to recognize the absurdity that results f...

    "So now what we are dealing with is the rubber meeting the road, and instead of biting the bullet on these issues, we just want to punt."
    "[T]he bill is mostly a stew of spending on existing programs, whatever their warts may be."
    "A friend of mine, talking about the Democratic presidential candidates, tossed out a wonderful mixed metaphor: 'This is awfully weak tea to have to hang your hat on.'"
    "The mayor has a heart as big as the Sahara for protecting 'his' police officers, and that is commendable. Unfortunately, he also often strips his gears by failing to engage the clutch when shiftin...

    Lynne Truss, "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation", 2003 Chicago Tribune, cited by The New Yorker, August 13, 2007 The New York Times, January 27, 2009 Montgomery Advertiser, Alabama, cited by The New Yorker, November 16, 1987 Bob Herbert, "Behind the Curtain," The New York Times, November 27, 2007 Thomas L. Friedman, ...

    • Richard Nordquist
  4. Mixed Metaphor Definition and Meaning. A mixed metaphor, shortened as “mixaphor,” is a figurative device that occurs when two metaphors are mixed up creating an incongruous comparison.

  5. Jan 12, 2023 · Definition; Examples; What is a mixed metaphor? A mixed metaphor occurs when an author combines two incompatible metaphors, forming an absurd or irrational comparison. In a mixed metaphor, there is no connection between what the author compares.

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  7. May 20, 2022 · But just as that door swings shut, you wonder “Was that the right way to say it?”. Nope, it’s definitely not the right way to say it. You’ve mixed up “let sleeping dogs lie” and “beating a dead horse,” and now your perfect comeback is a messy malaphor — also known as a mixed metaphor or proverb. Oops.

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