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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. A well-crafted metaphor uses consistent imagery ("hitting the nail on the ...
Sep 26, 2021 · A mixed metaphor is a combination of two or more incompatible figurative elements, producing a ridiculous effect. These elements can be metaphors, malaphors, or idioms. There are two ways for characters to use this technique, also known as a "mixaphor." In dialogue, it would either be used intentionally or unintentionally.
A mixed metaphor is a figure of speech wherein you combine two or more metaphors into one. And yes, it is as ludicrous as it sounds. Let’s look at an example: “It’s not rocket surgery.”. This mixed metaphor is a combination of “it’s not brain surgery” and “it’s not rocket science”, and when used in the right context, it can ...
The speaker uses a mixed metaphor to set out the evening sky. The first metaphor compares the evening sky to something that is “spread out.”. It describes a flat and expansive surface. The second metaphor compares the evening sky to a patient who has been anesthetized (etherized)and is lying on a table likely in preparation for surgery ...
- Using Mixed Metaphors
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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
Jun 25, 2024 · The definition of a mixed metaphor is the fusion of two different metaphors to create an illogical comparison. While a metaphor uses consistent language and imagery (e.g., “He’s got a chip on his shoulder;” “He’s got something up his sleeve”), a mixed metaphor blurs the imagery by combining two dissimilar or impossible things (e.g ...
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Aug 11, 2023 · A metaphor is a rhetorical device that makes a non-literal comparison between two unlike things. Metaphors are used to describe an object or action by stating (or implying) that it is something else (e.g., “knowledge is a butterfly”). Metaphors typically have two parts: A tenor is the thing or idea that the metaphor describes (e.g ...
