Difference between revisions of "Mixed metaphor"
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* "Let's swing the bat and see if we can score a touchdown!" (Problem: sports metaphors are fine, but don't mix baseball and football images) | * "Let's swing the bat and see if we can score a touchdown!" (Problem: sports metaphors are fine, but don't mix baseball and football images) | ||
| − | * "If George Washington were alive, then he' | + | * "If George Washington were alive, then he'd be rolling over in his grave." (Problem: one image or other, not both at the same time because he wouldn't be in a grave if he were alive) |
| − | Most presidents have been criticized for | + | Most presidents have been criticized for using mixed metaphors. Here is one by [[George W. Bush]]: |
*"The senator has got to understand if he's going to have — he can't have it both ways. He can't take the high horse and then claim the low road."<ref>http://www.vbforums.com/archive/index.php/t-318903.html</ref> | *"The senator has got to understand if he's going to have — he can't have it both ways. He can't take the high horse and then claim the low road."<ref>http://www.vbforums.com/archive/index.php/t-318903.html</ref> | ||
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<references/> | <references/> | ||
| + | [[Category:Rhetoric]] | ||
Latest revision as of 14:24, November 4, 2011
A mixed metaphor is a traditionally disfavored figure of speech whereby two different analogies or images are used to make a point.
Here are some examples:
- "Let's swing the bat and see if we can score a touchdown!" (Problem: sports metaphors are fine, but don't mix baseball and football images)
- "If George Washington were alive, then he'd be rolling over in his grave." (Problem: one image or other, not both at the same time because he wouldn't be in a grave if he were alive)
Most presidents have been criticized for using mixed metaphors. Here is one by George W. Bush:
- "The senator has got to understand if he's going to have — he can't have it both ways. He can't take the high horse and then claim the low road."[1]