mixed metaphor

mixed met·a·phor

M m

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [mikst met-uh-fawr, -fer]
- /mɪkst ˈmɛt əˌfɔr, -fər/
- /mɪkst ˈmet.ə.fɔːr/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [mikst met-uh-fawr, -fer]
- /mɪkst ˈmɛt əˌfɔr, -fər/

Definitions of mixed metaphor words

noun mixed metaphor the use in the same expression of two or more metaphors that are incongruous or illogical when combined, as in “The president will put the ship of state on its feet.”. 1
noun mixed metaphor a combination of incongruous metaphors, as when the Nazi jackboots sing their swan song 0
noun mixed metaphor the use of two or more inconsistent metaphors in a single expression (Ex.: the storm of protest was nipped in the bud) 0

See all 3 definitions of mixed metaphor

Information block about the term

Origin of mixed metaphor

First appearance:

before 1790

One of the 43% newest English words

First recorded in 1790-1800

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Mixed metaphor

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Mixed metaphor

mixed metaphor popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 31% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 59% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

mixed metaphor usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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