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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Prudent families can also come up with a code word to use in an emergency which a scammer will never know.—
Steve Weisman,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
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Finally, the correct authenticator code word matched what was in my hands.—
Steve Koester,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The phrase is typically a euphemism for leaving discreetly, often to use the restroom.—
Russel Honoré,
Newsweek,
5 Mar. 2025
-
After sixteen months of watching a genocide happen in real time—with more-or-less total support from Western governments, despite the euphemisms and justifications skillfully woven by headlines and political speeches—the contradiction is becoming harder to ignore.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
27 Feb. 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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In 2025, there is no single issue like slavery dividing America, and that makes the demise of Britain's Liberal Party a better analogy for today's Democrats.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Apr. 2025
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When there’s no pathogen present, the two kinases are bound together — thus the handcuffs analogy.—
Paul Smaglik,
Discover Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mixed metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mixed%20metaphor. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.
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