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The word metaphor comes from the Greek metaphora "to transfer." With a metaphor, an idea is transferred from one word to another. It's implicit, like in this metaphor from Flannery O'Connor, "He had measured five feet four inches of pure gamecock." But don't mix them — mixed metaphors get confusing. Don't put all of your eggs in one doghouse.
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.
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 ...
Nov 3, 2022 · A mixed metaphor is a metaphor that combines two inconsistent or incongruous framings. For example, consider the mixed metaphor “we will need to iron out the bottlenecks”. This metaphor mixes framing the issue as a wrinkle that can be smoothed out through ironing, and a bottleneck that disrupts the flow. This doesn’t create a very clear ...
Jun 6, 2019 · Updated on June 06, 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
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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Jun 16, 2023 · This term was originally used in the context of rhetoric and poetry to describe a figure of speech that describes one thing in terms of another. The prefix “meta-” in “metaphor” means “beyond,” “higher,” or “transcending.”. This prefix is often used in Greek to indicate a change or transformation of some kind.
