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
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
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
-
The media are somewhat responsible, so apologies for beating a dead metaphor.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2026
-
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
Noun
-
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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The Execution Crisis Defined Rasmus Holst, CEO of Zensai, describes it without euphemism.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
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Willmett and Harris are clearly uninterested in euphemisms, so there’s an exaggerated naivety to their lyrics.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
8 June 2026
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
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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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Related Stories Jon Stewart then extended the analogy.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
10 June 2026
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The analogy appears to reference the leverage the 49ers hold over Aiyuk.—
Sean Campbell,
Sacbee.com,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mixed metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mixed%20metaphor. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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