METAPHORS

What is an argument-as-war metaphor?

Definition
	A conventional metaphor in which argument is represented as war, with such possibilities as attack, defense, demolishing, winning, and losing.

Examples
	Here are some examples in English:
	Your claims are indefensible. He attacked every weak point in my argument. His criticisms were right on target. I demolished his argument. I've never won an argument with him. He shot down all of my arguments.

What is a character-as-straight-movement metaphor?

Definition
	A conventional metaphor in which moral character is represented as movement with a degree of straightness, such that the degree of straightness represents the level of moral goodness.

Examples
	Here are some examples in English:
	He's a man of unswerving integrity. You're just a crook. I want a straight answer. She would never deviate from the truth. What is a character-as-physical-strength metaphor? Definition A conventional metaphor in which moral character is represented as physical strength, such that the degree of strength represents the level of moral goodness. Examples Here are some examples in English: She's morally strong. He has a firm character. He's a bit unstable, as far as character goes. She has weak character. What is a significant-as-big metaphor? Definition A conventional metaphor in which a state of importance is represented as large size. Examples Here are some examples in English: He's a big man in the garment industry. He's head and shoulders above everyone in the industry. I was astounded at the enormity of the crime. His accomplishments tower over those of lesser men. MORE EXAMPLES

Abandon: The team decided to abandon the project.
Aged: This joke is aging quickly.
Agenda: They carried out their agenda.
Aim: Condoleezza Rice launched a diplomatic effort aimed at ending the war.
Airhead: Don’t be such an airhead!
Anarchy: It’s anarchy on the freeway today!
Appetite: Children have an enormous appetite for learning.
Apple: Apple of my eye
Atmosphere: The atmosphere was highly charged.
Attack: She attacked his character.
Autumn: They had entered their autumn years.

Bait: He was trying to bait her into debate.
Bake: It was a half-baked idea.
Barren: His face was a barren landscape of sorrow, parted by rivers of tears.
Base: A play based on a poorly written book by Gaston.
Baste: He basted her with flattery to get the job.
Battle: Life is a constant battle.
Battlefield: Love is a battlefield.
Battleground: The senate has become the battleground for stem cell lobbyists.
Beacon: A beacon for fellow workers.
Bear Fruit: Alice was thrilled when her idea began to bear fruit.
Beast: Fear is a beast that feeds on attention
Being: The point being.
Benchmark: The benchmark 30-year T-bill.
Beseiged: She was besieged by the papparazzi.
Binding: A legally binding contract.
Bite: His words had a little bite to them.
Bittersweet: Bittersweet memories.
Blackest: The blackest thoughts of men.
Bland: Her presentation was a little bland.
Blanket: A blanket of snow fell through the night.
Blizzard: There was a blizzard of activity at the emergency room.
Blockade: The Senator’s attempt to blockade the vote was seen was seen as a feeble attempt to raise his profile.
Blossom/Bloom: She had blossomed overnight, going from stinkweed to rose with but one sip of potion.
Blow: You’ll be blown away!
Blue: When you’re feelin’ blue.
Boil: The boss was boiling mad.
Boiling: Boiling mad.
Boiling: Boiling landscape.
Bombard: He was bombarded with questions.
Bombshell: She was hit by the bombshell that her boyfriend was married.
Bombshell: Blond bombshell
Bond: They had a spiritual bond between them.
Bottom: The teacher got to the bottom of the problem.
Bottom Feeder: He’s nothing but a bottom feeding letch!
Boundaries: Sports rules set the boundaries of fair play.
Bowels: In the bowels of the ship.
Brand: The band bleated out their own brand of country music.
Breaking: Breaking news.
Breeze: This homework is a breeze.
Brick Wall: He was hitting his head against a brick wall.
Bright: A bright idea.
Brilliant: A brilliant idea!
Bubbles: Her bubbly personality.
Bucking: Bucking for a raise.
Bud: Their relationship had begun to bud again, after a long and desolate winter.
Bumper Crop: A bumper crop of stories have sprouted from this news leak.
Burnt: Burned by a shady deal.
Bursting: Bursting with flavor!

Cage: His mind was caged by depression.
Campaign: She led the campaign for student housing.
Catch: Did you catch the big game on Tuesday?
Catch: She’s quite a catch!
Cats & Dogs: It is raining cats and dogs
Ceasefire: The couple agreed to a ceasefire over whose family they would visit for Thanksgiving.
Chew: You’ve given me something to chew on!
Chilly: It’s been a little chilly around the office since Mr.
Choose: An electron chooses the path of least resistance.
Clam: The suspect clammed up when the police began to ask him questions.
Clear Skies: It’s gonna’ be clear skies from now on.
Cloud: The event was clouded over by protests.
Cloudy: My memory is a little cloudy.
Coarse: He had a coarse manner of speech.
Cold: A cold reception.
Collide: Their philosophies would eventually collide.
Colorful: A colorful remark.
Come Up: We’ll see if any new job listings come up.
Comfort: I’m comfortable with my decision.
Cook: He knew he was cooked when he saw his boss standing at the desk.
Crop: A new crop of students entered the classroom.
Crossfire: He was caught in the crossfire of his friends’ disagreement.

Darken: The skies of his future began to darken.
Dawn: The dawn of civilization.
Dead: I’m dead tired
Deep: Deep despair.
Defense: Your claims are indefensible.
Demolish: I demolished his argument.
Depth: Deep thoughts.
Determine: The clouds are just determined to ruin our picnic!
Diamond In The Rough: That gymnast is a diamond in the rough.
Digest: Take a moment to digest the info.
Dim: A dim view.
Direction: She sought a new direction in her life.
Dish: Dish out more criticism than one can take.
Division: Cell division.
Doorway: Your browser is your doorway to the internet.
Drift: He was a drifter, of origin unknown.
Dry Spell: Business suffered a long dry spell.
Dud: His hot date turned out to be a dud.
Dying: I’m dying to meet her.

Edge: She had returned from the edge of death.
Embark: They were about to embark on a journey of the soul.
Energy: There was an energy about them.
Exist, Existing: Such attitudes exist, but are becoming rare.

Faded: He faded off to sleep.
Farm: Adam joined the Boston Celtics farm team.
Fast Lane: Life in the fast lane.
Fertile: He has a fertile imagination.
Fever: A feverish pace.
Fire: There’s a fire in my heart and you fan it.
Firestorm: There was a firestorm of controversy surrounding the president’s statements.
Fish: There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
Fish: The con artist managed to fish in another victim, hook, line and sinker.
Flame: I was flamed on a message board.
Flame: His old flame contacted him hoping to rekindle their romance.
Flank: The senator received universal criticism from both flanks, Republican and Democratic alike.
Flight: The business was about to take flight.
Flower: She was a flower, young and beautiful, bending gently in the ever changing winds of youth.
Fog: My memory is a little foggy.
Food: Food for thought.
Footsteps: She followed in her mothers’ footsteps.
Foxhole: After the vote the senator headed for its foxholes, afraid of the result voting against his constituency would have.
freedom: Freedom of expression.
Front lines: The organization works at the front lines of the war on drugs.
Frozen: Frozen with fear.
Fruit: His ideas began to bear fruit.
Fry: She knew she was fried when the teacher handed back her paper.

Gateway: Education is a gateway to success.
Glow: A glowing review.
Grandfather: The rights on the property were grandfathered to the new owner.
Grate: Her voice is beginning to grate on me.
Gravity: The gravity of the matter drew his undivided interest.
green: That new worker is pretty green.
Grey: Only shades of grey.
Grey skies: Grey skies are gonna’ clear up!
Grill: The lawyer grilled the witness on the stand.
Grit: The author’s gritty style.
Grow/growth: The markets experienced considerable growth until plagued by profiteering.
Gust: Criticism began to gust in from all sides.

Hail: A hail of bullets.
Harnessed: To harness the power of the sun.
Harvest: She decided to harvest her investment a few weeks early.
Hatch: Helen and Maria hatched a plan to help Maria become president of her class.
Hazy: Plans are still a little hazy.
Heat: Heated debate.
Height: The height of one’s career.
Hook: The teen spent two years in rehab, after having been hooked on phonics as a child.
Hook: The song “Who Let The Dogs Out” had a successful hook.
Horse: A riverboat shall be my horse
Hot: I’m so hot for her.
Hub: The CPU is the central hub of the computer.

Icy: An icy stare.
Idols: Words are false idols
Infant: The Iraq democracy is in its infancy.

Join the ranks: Clinton decided to join the ranks of foreign policy critics.

Kindle: They were kindling a new romance.

Land: The salesman tried to land a contract with the client.
Launch: Condoleezza Rice launched a diplomatic effort aimed at ending the war.
Light: You light up my life.
Light: The light of reason.
Light: The classmates had a light conversation.
Lightening rod: He became a lightening rod for party criticism.
Lion: He has the heart of a lion
Listen: The world is listening.
Lure: The crier managed to lure in several new customers from off the street.

Market: He began to market himself as an author.
Misty: Misty, water-coloured memories.
Mother: Necessity is the mother of invention.
motion: Ideas in motion.
move, moving, movement: A moving speech.
Mull: She began to mull it over in her mind.
Music: The words were music to his ears.

Net: The police finally netted a bank robber after an intense search.
No-man’s land: Party moderates found themselves in a political no-man’s-land, with pro and con members battling around them.
Note: Leaving her house was the high note of the evening.

Palate: He found her behavior unpalatable.
Path: Following the path of enlightenment.
Peel: Keep your eyes peeled.
Pepper: His speech was peppered with vitriol.
Pick: Pick from our wide selection of clothing styles!
Pickle: That’s a real pickle of a problem.
Place: She had a special place in his heart.
Plant: The orator planted ideas in their fertile, young minds.
Plate: My plate is already too full.
platform: Political platform.
Plow/plough: We decided to plow through the bookkeeping.
Point: He had finally come to the point of conclusion.
position: One’s position on a political issue.
Powder keg: The court’s decision is sure to set off a powder keg of dissent among defense supporters.
Power: You’ve got the power!

Rain: Into each life some rain must fall.
Rainbow: A rainbow of flavors.
Raw: She had a raw talent for music.
Recipe: A recipe for disaster.
Reek: That man reeks of infidelity!
Reel in: The con artist managed to reel in another victim.
Ring: Her words rang true.
Ripe: He allowed the moment to ripen before asking for her hand in marriage.
Road: On the road to peace.
Roast: A celebrity roast.
rock: The guy is a rock.
Room: A child needs room to grow.
Roots: His roots ran deep in the region.
Rough: I hear you’re feeling rough!

Salvo: The opposition’s speech was the opening salvo of an attack on foreign policy.
Scream: Her outfit screamed “Help me, I lack taste!”
Sea: Drowning in the sea of ideas.
Season: It is the season of change.
secreted: He secreted the fact that he was a Republican.
See: I fail to see your logic.
Seed: The doctor explained that her insides were a rocky place, where my seed could find no purchase.
Serve: Served up a number of suggestions.
Shade: A shady character.
Shell: He had become a shell of a man.
Shining: A shining example of democracy.
Shoot: He shot down all of my arguments.
Shower: He showered her with gifts.
Silk: His silken lies went unheard.
Simmer: The crowd began to simmer down.
Singe: Feel the singe of rejection.
Sister: The company had a sister factory in Trenton.
Smooth: Things are going smoothly.
Snag: The project hit a snag and was put on hold.
Soft: Her soft voice was music to his ears.
Soil: The soil of a man’s heart is stonier!
Sour: End on a sour note.
Sow: He sowed the seeds of discontent among the staff.
Spectrum: An infinite spectrum of possibilities.
Spicy: A spicy new outfit.
Spinning: His head was spinning with excitement.
Spotlight: Mary stole the spotlight with her performance.
Sprout: After the phone call, a smile could be seen sprouting from the edges of his lips.
stable, stability: A stable economy.
steady: A steady rhythm.
steer: Steer clear of that topic.
Stench: The stench of failure.
Stew: The decision had him in a stew.
Stink: Love stinks!
Stir: Stirring up all kinds of emotions.
Stone: A heart of stone
Storm: She was unsure if her proposal could weather the storm of scrutiny.
Storm: Thoughts are a storm.
stubborn: Stubborn stains!
Sugar: Give me a little sugar, honey!
Sun: You are the sun in my sky
Sunset: He’d entered his sunset years.
Sunshine: You are the sunshine of my life.
Swallow: Difficult to swallow.
Sweet: Ain’t she sweet.
Sweet: The sweet smell of success.

Target: His criticisms were right on target.
Taste: You have great taste in furniture!
Tasty: Tasty tidbits of information.
Tepid: A tepid speech.
Thaw: Relations between the two countries began to thaw.
Thunder: The boss thundered into the room.
Time Bomb: The new policy is considered a political time bomb for the conservative government.
Toast: He knew he was going to be toast when he got home.
transition: A transitional government is in effect.
travel: We’ll travel down that road (of conversation) another time.
Troops: Greenpeace called in the troops to protest the whale hunt.
Truce: The neighbors agreed to a truce over their barbeque dispute.
Twilight: He entered his twilight years a broken man.

Under fire: The president has been under fire for his veto of the stem cell bill.

Velvet: The velvet voice of Bing Crosby.

War zone: The courtroom had become a war zone.
Warm: A warm reception.
Water: Ideas are water
Weather: His face was weathered by a long, troubled life.
Weighty: A weighty subject.
Whirlwind: It was a whirlwind romance that spun out of control.
Win: I’ve never won an argument with him.
Wind: The winds of change.
Window: Tolerance is the window to peace.
Winter: She entered a spiritual winter.
Wrapped: The detective had wrapped up the mystery.