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
Yeah, that's probably a mixed metaphor, or actually a simile.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2011
Fair warning: What follows is a mixed metaphor palooza.
—Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 23 Jan. 2013
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
Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
Yeah, that's probably a mixed metaphor, or actually a simile.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2011
Fair warning: What follows is a mixed metaphor palooza.
—Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 23 Jan. 2013
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
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
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Finally, the correct authenticator code word matched what was in my hands.—
Steve Koester,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
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This isn’t the first time online communities have attempted to use phrases or code words to organize.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
3 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Finally, liquid bat guano and liquid earthworm castings (guano and castings are euphemisms for excrement) are also utilized for foliar fertilization.—
Joshua Siskin,
Orange County Register,
14 Feb. 2025
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When health officials confirm bird flu in a flock, the birds are culled — a euphemism for killed — in order to stop the spread of the virus.—
Bruce Gil,
Quartz,
12 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Fight analyst Dan Hardy used an interesting simile to explain the key difference between the two title fighters in Saturday night's main event at UFC 312 as middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis puts his title on the line against former champion Sean Strickland.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
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This is what Thadeus loves: a test of his store of poetic similes, even if, these days, his poetry-writing is notional.—
Han Ong,
The New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2025
Noun
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No analogy is perfect, but a different historical moment feels, to me, more immediate and more challenging as a reference point.—
Robert Pinsky,
The New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2025
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The New Orleans native shared an analogy of a five-year-old who imagines being the knight in shining armor and having to slay a dragon to save the princess in a tower.—
Mya Abraham,
VIBE.com,
28 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Mixed metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mixed%20metaphor. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.
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