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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 ...
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
Jan 31, 2010 · An interesting finding regarding mixed metaphor is that all the mixed metaphors (regarding the data of governors and mayors), in this book, consist of the following pairs: Journey and War, Journey ...
- 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
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 ...
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The term metaphor meant in Greek "carry something across" or "transfer," which suggests many of the more elaborate definitions below: Metaphor Table. Definition. Origin. A comparison between two things, based on resemblance or similarity, without using "like" or "as". most dictionaries and textbooks. The act of giving a thing a name that ...
