as in simile
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for catachresis
Noun
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Dryden’s famous simile, from La Fontaine’s own century, likens a translator who copies too closely to a man dancing on ropes with fettered legs: careful, precise, but never graceful.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026 -
Salazar-Thompson’s witty script — packed with hilarious metaphors and similes (like comparing a woman’s firm grip on her purse to that of a two-toed sloth on a branch) — make for a consistently amusing trip back in time.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Special military operation is Russia’s official euphemism for the country’s invasion of Ukraine.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2026
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Discussing why people use euphemisms online prepares children to pause and ask questions when unfamiliar terms appear.—
Sharlette A. Kellum,
The Conversation,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In a popular analogy, the fabric of space-time is like the flat expanse of a mattress, and a massive object like a star is like a bowling ball sitting on top.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
3 June 2026
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But these are not normal times, and the historical analogy does not hold.—
David S. Cohen,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 May 2026
Noun
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But in terms of its actual content, the statement was pretty thin gruel, bristling with public relations-style circumlocution and vagueness.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
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Here, instead, she’s swayed by a dead Diana softly squeezing her hand and kindly hinting — the dead Diana is an ace at tactful circumlocution — that now is the time to show a mourning nation some emotion.—
Tom Gliatto,
Peoplemag,
16 Nov. 2023
Noun
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Cats, however, may turn out to be the canaries in the coalmines — pardon the mixed metaphor.—
Jan Ellen Spiegel,
Hartford Courant,
24 Dec. 2024
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The triple-mixed metaphor says it all: Licht & Co. are struggling with the intractable problem of how to square the CNN brand’s promise — straight news — with the entertainment imperatives of nighttime television.—
Erik Wemple,
Washington Post,
22 Dec. 2022
Noun
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For your family Establish a code word with your grandchildren now, before summer starts.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
6 June 2026
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When the MPKs didn’t know the Marines’ secret code word, the Marines slaughtered them and then shrugged and walked away from all their dead bodies to stay on mission (as in, kill more Marsies).—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
Noun
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Ethan spikes Giles’ drink and Giles wakes up the next morning as a giant Fyorl demon—a handy metaphor for his midlife crisis, per producer Douglas Petrie.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 June 2026
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Stankiewicz, 61, smirked at the fitting metaphor after the Trojans clinched their first NCAA super regional berth in 21 years.—
Jose de Jesus Ortiz,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
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“Catachresis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catachresis. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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