as in code word
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Recent Examples of dead metaphor
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.
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Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
This shift reminds us that dead metaphors aren’t always terminally dead.
—Rob Nixon, Smithsonian, 23 Mar. 2018
Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
This shift reminds us that dead metaphors aren’t always terminally dead.
—Rob Nixon, Smithsonian, 23 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dead metaphor
Noun
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The 22-year-old posted a picture on social media with a meeting room white board in the background and, on the white board, code words for plays used by the Lions were included in the photo.Andy Scholes, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024
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Merchant allegedly used fabric weights as code words for different parts of the crime.Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, 11 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Tax complexity has become a euphemism for tax evasion for a price ordinary taxpayers cannot afford.Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 18 Nov. 2024
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What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie, and why does its title sound like a euphemism for something very dirty?Laura Bradley, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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These men are not so different, even if Shrinking has to pretzel its characters into unrecognizable versions of themselves to insist upon this analogy.Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
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To pick up on the aviation analogy, data centers will soon be regarded like airports—an essential service that keeps the economy moving.Andrew Schaap, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Noun
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As with Aymara speakers, the metaphor manifests in gesture: how Yupno speakers point depends on the orientation of the nearest mountain range.Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
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The metaphor of transferring from gasoline/diesel to electric EV vehicles might be another reason.Zain Jaffer, Rolling Stone, 20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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These circumstances conducive to socialization are most obviously available for young people on athletic teams, but the sports simile is easily applicable to young people in marching band, theater productions, student council, volunteer and community settings and the robotics club.Jeff Nelligan, Baltimore Sun, 4 Dec. 2024
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Later, when asked about his evolution as a coach, Harbaugh described himself as open to change and used a mall-entrance simile to make his point.Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Dead metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dead%20metaphor. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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