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
-
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
-
Here’s a handy decoder for the code words used by flight attendants.—
Forbes.com,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
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The animation in the video draws one’s consciousness in like a vortex, and the three sweets that make up the name are suggestive of some sort of code word.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
Children and grief: Stop using euphemisms about death Now, the former president, 82, faces his own cancer diagnosis.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
21 May 2025
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That means saying, without euphemism or apology, that antisemitism cloaked as anti-Zionism is still antisemitism.—
Brendan Reilly,
Chicago Tribune,
12 June 2025
Noun
-
What’s the difference between a simile and a metaphor?—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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No metaphors or similes or hyperbolic language needed here – your kids are next.—
Rob Gagnon,
Hartford Courant,
25 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In fact, a 2022 Cleveland Clinic study found that patient comprehension doubled when physicians used plain-language explanations and analogies .—
Mena Mirhom,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
O’Neil uses an hourglass analogy: Imagine counting grains of sand at the top (radioactive elements) and bottom (elements produced from radioactive decay).—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mixed metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mixed%20metaphor. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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