as in dead metaphor
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Recent Examples of mixed metaphor
Cats, however, may turn out to be the canaries in the coalmines — pardon the mixed metaphor.
—
Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
Cats, however, may turn out to be the canaries in the coalmines — pardon the mixed metaphor.
—Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
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
Excuse the mixed metaphor, but the Viper feels like a great white shark on the road.
—WSJ, 3 Dec. 2022
Yes, a mixed metaphor, but that essentially is what has been in play to this stage.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2022
Those smoldering embers of shortcomings, now and particularly in the postseason, always hover — a mixed metaphor, admittedly — over some and consistently haunt others.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Jan. 2022
Eye strain, like neck, back, or wrist strain, is nothing to be sneezed at, to use a very mixed metaphor.
—Maria Shine Stewart, cleveland, 28 Sep. 2020
Chloe mixed metaphors while describing herself as not smart.
—Neha Prakash, Marie Claire, 18 Apr. 2020
Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
Cats, however, may turn out to be the canaries in the coalmines — pardon the mixed metaphor.
—Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
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
Excuse the mixed metaphor, but the Viper feels like a great white shark on the road.
—WSJ, 3 Dec. 2022
Yes, a mixed metaphor, but that essentially is what has been in play to this stage.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2022
Those smoldering embers of shortcomings, now and particularly in the postseason, always hover — a mixed metaphor, admittedly — over some and consistently haunt others.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Jan. 2022
Eye strain, like neck, back, or wrist strain, is nothing to be sneezed at, to use a very mixed metaphor.
—Maria Shine Stewart, cleveland, 28 Sep. 2020
Chloe mixed metaphors while describing herself as not smart.
—Neha Prakash, Marie Claire, 18 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mixed metaphor
Noun
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Many of our emotion terms are references to states of the body—we’re downcast, bent out of shape, head over heels, shaken up, down in the mouth—which have slowly rigidified into dead metaphor.—
Nikhil Krishnan,
The New Yorker,
1 Aug. 2022
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This shift reminds us that dead metaphors aren’t always terminally dead.—
Rob Nixon,
Smithsonian,
23 Mar. 2018
Noun
-
Halbreich told me that prominent art institutions are already using code words, like community, to talk about diversity.—
Rachel Corbett,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2025
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These traffickers often use code words and emojis to avoid being detected by law enforcement or censored by platform guidelines.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The claim that euphemisms for death are somehow unique to Vietnamese culture is absurd in the extreme.—
Andrea Long Chu,
Vulture,
6 May 2025
-
Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco have long received EU funds to ‘manage migration’ (a euphemism for preventing people from leaving their territories, often by force).—
Frey Lindsay,
Forbes.com,
19 Apr. 2025
Noun
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No metaphors or similes or hyperbolic language needed here – your kids are next.—
Rob Gagnon,
Hartford Courant,
25 Mar. 2025
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Her father was a scientist and worked for NASA, so her work, including The Body’s Question and Life on Mars, is infused with the cosmos and space and all these metaphors and similes tied to the most mysterious places in the universe.—
Lisa Wong Macabasco,
Vogue,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Psychological inoculation uses a vaccine analogy where exposing people to a weakened dose of the techniques used to produce falsehoods—and deconstructing and refuting them in advance—can help cultivate greater cognitive immunity to future misinformation.—
Sander van der Linden,
Time,
6 May 2025
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Driving a Lamborghini through Manhattan at 18 miles an hour in traffic is a waste… or insert your own analogy here.—
Adrian Bridgwater,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mixed metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mixed%20metaphor. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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