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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.
—
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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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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Rana recommends coming up with a secret code word to use with your family.—
Audrey Nguyen,
NPR,
24 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Look at rumors, gossip, metaphors, euphemisms, folktales—all the means by which subordinate groups disguise their opposition.—
Nikil Saval,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
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The Afghanistan Experience Using the euphemism for its aggression in Ukraine, the Kremlin has launched initiatives over the last two years called the Association of the Special Military Operation (SVO) and the SVO Military Brotherhood.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Using a baseball analogy, no painter throws harder than Kent Monkman.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
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Extending the spaceport-airport analogy a little further, the closure of America's busiest airport for a week or more would be a big deal.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The parts that do resonate feel like physical metaphors ripped out of real life.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2025
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In some ways, this is a good metaphor for the experience of Ramsey, of whom their co-star speaks with particular admiration.—
Fernanda Pérez Sánchez,
Vogue,
16 Apr. 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
Cite this Entry
“Dead metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dead%20metaphor. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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