Metaphors
See: Metaphors We Live By
Metaphor is most familiar as the literary device through which we describe one thing in terms of another, as when the author of the Old Testament Song of Songs describes a lover’s navel as “a round goblet never lacking mixed wine” or when the medieval Muslim rhetorician Abdalqahir Al-Jurjani pines, “The gazelle has stolen its eyes from my beloved.”
Yet metaphor is much, much more than this. Metaphor is not just confined to art and literature but is at work in all fields of human endeavor, from economics and advertising, to politics and business, to science and psychology. … There is no aspect of our experience not molded in some way by metaphor’s almost imperceptible touch. Once you twig to metaphor’s modus operandi, you’ll find its fingerprints on absolutely everything.
Metaphorical thinking — our instinct not just for describing but for comprehending one thing in terms of another, for equating I with an other — shapes our view of the world, and is essential to how we communicate, learn, discover, and invent.
Metaphor is a way of thought long before it is a way with words.
Yet metaphor is much, much more than this. Metaphor is not just confined to art and literature but is at work in all fields of human endeavor, from economics and advertising, to politics and business, to science and psychology. … There is no aspect of our experience not molded in some way by metaphor’s almost imperceptible touch. Once you twig to metaphor’s modus operandi, you’ll find its fingerprints on absolutely everything.
Metaphorical thinking — our instinct not just for describing but for comprehending one thing in terms of another, for equating I with an other — shapes our view of the world, and is essential to how we communicate, learn, discover, and invent.
Metaphor is a way of thought long before it is a way with words.
ARGUMENT IS WAR:
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.
You disagree? OK, shoot!.
If you use that strategy, he'll wipe you out.
He shot down all my arguments.
TIME IS MONEY:
You're wasting my time.
This gadget will save you hours.
How do you spend your time these days?
That flat tire cost me an hour.
I've invested a lot of time in her.
You need to budget your time.
Is that worth your while?
You don't use your time profitably.
Because money is a limited resource,
and a limited resource is a valuable commodity…
…then, if time is money ("spend time"),
then time is a limited resource ("run out of time"),
and time is a valuable commodity ("lose time")
HAPPY IS UP; SAD IS DOWN:
I'm feeling up.
That boosted my spirits.
My spirits rose.
You're in high spirits.
Thinking about her always gives me a lift.
I'm feeling down.
I'm depressed.
I fell into a depression.
He's really low these days.
My spirits sank.
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.
You disagree? OK, shoot!.
If you use that strategy, he'll wipe you out.
He shot down all my arguments.
TIME IS MONEY:
You're wasting my time.
This gadget will save you hours.
How do you spend your time these days?
That flat tire cost me an hour.
I've invested a lot of time in her.
You need to budget your time.
Is that worth your while?
You don't use your time profitably.
Because money is a limited resource,
and a limited resource is a valuable commodity…
…then, if time is money ("spend time"),
then time is a limited resource ("run out of time"),
and time is a valuable commodity ("lose time")
HAPPY IS UP; SAD IS DOWN:
I'm feeling up.
That boosted my spirits.
My spirits rose.
You're in high spirits.
Thinking about her always gives me a lift.
I'm feeling down.
I'm depressed.
I fell into a depression.
He's really low these days.
My spirits sank.
EXAMPLE: the TIMELINE
The timeline seems among the most inescapable metaphors we have. And yet, in its modern form, with a single axis and a regular, measured distribution of dates, it is a relatively recent invention. Understood in this strict sense, the timeline is not even 250 years old.
The timeline seems among the most inescapable metaphors we have. And yet, in its modern form, with a single axis and a regular, measured distribution of dates, it is a relatively recent invention. Understood in this strict sense, the timeline is not even 250 years old.
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