as in dead metaphor
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mixed metaphor
Cats, however, may turn out to be the canaries in the coalmines — pardon the mixed metaphor.
—
Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
The triple-mixed metaphor says it all: Licht & Co. are struggling with the intractable problem of how to square the CNN brand’s promise — straight news — with the entertainment imperatives of nighttime television.
—Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2022
Excuse the mixed metaphor, but the Viper feels like a great white shark on the road.
—WSJ, 3 Dec. 2022
Yes, a mixed metaphor, but that essentially is what has been in play to this stage.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2022
Those smoldering embers of shortcomings, now and particularly in the postseason, always hover — a mixed metaphor, admittedly — over some and consistently haunt others.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Jan. 2022
Eye strain, like neck, back, or wrist strain, is nothing to be sneezed at, to use a very mixed metaphor.
—Maria Shine Stewart, cleveland, 28 Sep. 2020
Chloe mixed metaphors while describing herself as not smart.
—Neha Prakash, Marie Claire, 18 Apr. 2020
Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
The triple-mixed metaphor says it all: Licht & Co. are struggling with the intractable problem of how to square the CNN brand’s promise — straight news — with the entertainment imperatives of nighttime television.
—Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2022
Excuse the mixed metaphor, but the Viper feels like a great white shark on the road.
—WSJ, 3 Dec. 2022
Yes, a mixed metaphor, but that essentially is what has been in play to this stage.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2022
Those smoldering embers of shortcomings, now and particularly in the postseason, always hover — a mixed metaphor, admittedly — over some and consistently haunt others.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Jan. 2022
Eye strain, like neck, back, or wrist strain, is nothing to be sneezed at, to use a very mixed metaphor.
—Maria Shine Stewart, cleveland, 28 Sep. 2020
Chloe mixed metaphors while describing herself as not smart.
—Neha Prakash, Marie Claire, 18 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mixed metaphor
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
Have a safety plan and a family code word.—
Amelia Mugavero,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
But electability is neither a code word for, nor tantamount to, white-male-ness.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The gloves are off, the language is blunter, and the patience for euphemism is gone.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Everything else is a euphemism for old fashioned domination that the region has spent generations trying to escape.—
Boris Muñoz,
Time,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Along with another allusion to his quip about Lucien’s death, that simile establishes the Anglo-Irish author as a terrifying counter-example of homosexual exposure.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Consider, for instance, the use of rhetorical figures such as metaphor or simile.—
Nino Letteriello,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Baseball has a lot of good analogies for fatherhood, even if most of them break down rather quickly.—
Caleb Harris,
Austin American Statesman,
4 Feb. 2026
-
That’s the American analogy, where the traditional governing elite of one of the great parties of much of the country committed itself to something not just in the defense of slavery, but to slavery-plus, fortified and amplified by treason.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mixed metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mixed%20metaphor. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
