Mixed Metaphors
Their Use and Abuse
Published on 29. November 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-350-06603-8 (ISBN)
Description
Critics shudder at mixed metaphors like 'that wet blanket is a loose cannon', but admire 'Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player', and all the metaphors packed into Macbeth's 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow' speech. How is it that metaphors are sometimes mixed so badly and other times put together so well?
In Mixed Metaphors: Their Use and Abuse, Karen Sullivan employs findings from linguistics and cognitive science to explore how metaphors are combined and why they sometimes mix. Once we understand the ways that metaphoric ideas are put together, we can appreciate why metaphor combinations have such a wide range of effects.
Mixed Metaphors: Their Use and Abuse includes analyses of over a hundred metaphors from politicians, sportspeople, writers and other public figures, and identifies the characteristics that make these metaphors annoying, amusing or astounding.
In Mixed Metaphors: Their Use and Abuse, Karen Sullivan employs findings from linguistics and cognitive science to explore how metaphors are combined and why they sometimes mix. Once we understand the ways that metaphoric ideas are put together, we can appreciate why metaphor combinations have such a wide range of effects.
Mixed Metaphors: Their Use and Abuse includes analyses of over a hundred metaphors from politicians, sportspeople, writers and other public figures, and identifies the characteristics that make these metaphors annoying, amusing or astounding.
Reviews / Votes
[Using] copious real-life examples ... Sullivan makes apt points about the formal properties of some good and bad mixed metaphors - how close the metaphorical elements stand to each other and how congruent their underlying conceptual metaphors are. * Times Literary Supplement * [Mixed Metaphors could] serve as a popular introduction to CMT covering a wide range of examples drawn from spoken, written and multimodal discourses, advertising, science, literature and media (i.e. press, electronic and social media). Its popular appeal is reinforced by "further reading" recommendations that are attached to seven of the nine chapters ... These aspects make the book accessible to undergraduate students and a wider audience who may not have had any academic teaching on metaphors. * Journal of Pragmatics * Informative and rich in content ... A trailblazer in providing a comprehensive introduction to mixed metaphors. * Discourse Studies *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 214 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
305 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-06603-8 (9781350066038)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2018
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€29.99
Available for download
E-Book
11/2018
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€29.99
Available for download
Person
Karen Sullivan is a Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Queensland, Australia
Content
Dedication
List of Figures
1. Perfect mix or perfect mess?
2. Conceptual Metaphor Theory
3. The main reasons metaphors mix
4. More exotic mixes
5. Metaphor or not? How ambiguity causes 'mixing'
6. Malaphors and other 'ducks out of water'
7. Why we need multiple metaphors
8. Mixing metaphors for fun and profit
9. Making the most of your metaphors
Appendix. Index of metaphors
How to read metaphor diagrams
List of metaphors cited in the text
Bibliography
Index
List of Figures
1. Perfect mix or perfect mess?
2. Conceptual Metaphor Theory
3. The main reasons metaphors mix
4. More exotic mixes
5. Metaphor or not? How ambiguity causes 'mixing'
6. Malaphors and other 'ducks out of water'
7. Why we need multiple metaphors
8. Mixing metaphors for fun and profit
9. Making the most of your metaphors
Appendix. Index of metaphors
How to read metaphor diagrams
List of metaphors cited in the text
Bibliography
Index