Avoid mangling your metaphors

“I conclude that the city’s proposal to skim the frosting, pocket the cake, and avoid paying the fair, reasonable, and affordable value of the meal is a hound that will not hunt.” (a quote from a Boston Globe article, May 8, 2010)

Here’s a closer look at two figures of speech that end up mangled quite frequently—similes and metaphors.

Metaphors and similes are often confused. A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object by comparing it to another unrelated object.

I am awash in a sea of disbelief that someone given her responsibilities would write so poorly.

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike objects using “like” or “as.”

Under her leadership, our workplace had become like “Animal Farm.”

Here are a few ways metaphors become mangled:

A mixed metaphor makes completely unrelated comparisons and is generally considered bad form.