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There is no other way to figure out where you belong than to make time to do it and give yourself space to fail, . If you think you have to get it right the first time, you won’t have the space really to investigate, and you’ll convince yourself that something is right when it’s not. And then
when you realize that you lied to yourself so you could feel stable instead of investigating. Here's how to avoid that outcome.
1. Take time to figure out what you love to do.
When I graduated from college, I was shocked to find out that I just spent 18 years getting an education and the only jobs offered to me sucked. Everything was some version of creating a new filing system for someone who is important.
Often . And this was one of those times: I asked myself, “What do I want to do most in the world, if I could do anything?” I decided it was to play volleyball, so I went to Los Angeles to figure out how to play on the professional beach circuit.
I spent my days on the courts, and late nights at the gym, and in between, I worked odd jobs in bookstores. And then I realized that the other thing I wanted to do was read. I had been so stifled in school being told what to read all the time. It was thrilling to be able to read whatever I wanted.
I wasn’t making very much money. Sometimes I couldn’t pay rent, and my landlord hated me. And sometimes I couldn’t afford to wash my clothes and I pretended that bikinis never get dirty. But, in fact, you really don’t need much money to figure out what you love to do, you just need time and space and a willingness to keep yourself busy until something sticks.
2. Take time to figure out what you can get paid for.
It took me a few years to navigate the arcane hierarchy of Southern California beach volleyball, but I finally played on the professional tour. For a summer. And what I found was that I am not nearly as competitive as the top players. I was, at one point, ranked 17, but I can tell you that I never cared as much about my rank as the other women.
What I did excel at, though, was winning sponsors, which, on some level, is what professional sports is all about anyway. I always had better sponsors even than women higher than me in the ranks, and I won partners and trainers by dint of my ability to attract sponsors.
But the truth about professional volleyball is that it is a really tough life. The eight hours a day on the beach starts getting old, and so do the Budweiser commercials I did () to manage to scrape together enough money to support myself.
So I thought to myself: Who is using the skills I have to make money? And I landed on marketing. And I had this boyfriend who was going to hire someone to do marketing at his Internet startup, , to get something on my resume. And then I got a job.
3. Watch people around you to figure out who is happy.
I ended up having a pretty big job at a Fortune 500 company running their web site. Don’t get me wrong. It was the earliest days of the Internet, and it actually took more people to redesign my blog recently than it did to launch that Fortune 500 site in the early 90's.
But anyway, I started climbing the ladder and tons of people wanted to mentor me, to help me get to where they were. And they told me they were happy, but when I watched them, day in and day out, I realized that the people at the top of the ladder were not nearly as happy as I had expected them to be. They tucked their kids into bed from their phones at their desk. They were overdressed constantly and they had hair-trigger tempers for topics that seemed inconsequential to me.
So I went to where coolness seemed to be: At startups.
Now that I’m on my third startup, I can tell you with certainty that if you looked at my life you would not see that I am happy. Running a startup is really high risk and , and entrepreneurs work longer hours than anyone else. But I’m almost always there to eat diner with my kids, because I control my own hours.
So the final step of finding out where you should be is looking at everyone’s life with a clear lens. Adult life is really hard. Finding out who we are, and finding someone to share our life with, and having kids and still having a life, and being able to pay for all of that: Impossible, really.
So you look around and see who is doing what part of that well. And you pick the sacrifices that they made. Because no life is perfect, but all lives have some things to offer. Be clear on what you’re choosing and what you’re giving up, and don’t pick anyone’s life if they tell you they have everything: they’re lying.
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T&C Dec 15English Figures of Speech / Quotes on Water Filters
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Figures of Speech
Apostrophe,
Hyperbole, Metaphor, Metonymy, Oxymoron, Simile
(C) 2001 to present
All textual content on this website is original
material by Leon of Leon's Planet.& Permission to copy and
use for educational purposes is granted.
Just give credit where credit is due, please.
　Table of Contents
click and go
Alliterations ( NOT figures of speech)&&
This web page was
updated: April 11, 2014
　Definitions
of Speech =
When the meaning of the words have a &deep& meaning,
which is different from the &surface& meaning.
Example:& Don't put off until tomorrow what you can
Meaning:& Put off doesn't literally mean 'put
off'.& It has a &deep& meaning, which is postpone.
Apostrophe
= speaking to an
inanimate object, or to a person who is absent
Example:& Oh, Rain, how
long will you fall upon me?
Explanation:& Rain is an inanimate object.& It
cannot hear nor understand you.& You can talk to it, but it
won't respond.
= exaggeration to
emotional response
Example:& It'll take me a
million years to fix this problem.
Explanation:& It won't really take a million years, but
we sometimes exaggerate the truth for affect.
=& one thing
is equated with another (not
related, but have some
common ground; that common ground
is supposed to give understanding)
For Examples:&
Personification
= an inanimate
object or animal is given human qualities
Example:& The
night embraced
me and the
moon smiled down upon
= one thing used to
refer to another (related
and used for reference, not understanding)
For Example:&
Synecdoche
= part represents the
whole (a kind of metonymy)
Example:& God bless the
which prepared this food.
&&&&&&&&&&Explanation:&
The hands (part) refers to the person (whole) which
owns the hands.&
= two contradictory words
used together
Example:& Childhood is so bittersweet.
can pass so slowly or so quickly.
am an idiotic genius.
= two things shown to be similar in some way
Example:& As sly as
Example:& As wise as
Example:& Eat like a bird
(eat very little)
Primary Pupils
Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6)
metaphor is like this:
Object &A& is object &B&.
(meaning:&
He is big and strong, like an ox)
(meaning:&
She is beautiful, like a fox)
people are couch
(meaning:&
Those people sit on their couch and don't move, like a potato.)
Secondary Students
Grade 7 to Grade 12)
A metaphor
is like the mathematical formula:& a
= b, where a
= noun and b = noun (different
noun); and where a is equal to b
in some way that is commonly understood by speaker and listener /
writer and reader.&
(meaning:& I
am strong and powerful, like a lion.)
(meaning:& You
are quiet and nice, like a lamb.)
(meaning:&
Love looks nice, like a rose, but it can hurt, like the thorns of
the wind beneath my wings.
(meaning:& You
make me feel &up& (happy), like the wind makes wings go
...sometimes
the metaphor is hiding from view in the sentence,
but it is is
indicated by other parts of speech.
Adjective:&
It's a fly ball.& (hidden
metaphor:& ball = bird)
Time flies.& (hidden
metaphor:& time = bird)
The car went flying down the
street.& (hidden metaphor:& car = bird)
A metaphor
noun, BUT it is sometimes disguised as another part
of speech.
are lots of METAPHORS in SONGS!
all that I can see...
is just another lemon
&Lemon Tree& by Fool's Garden)
(metaphor:& lemon tree = sadness)
(metaphor meaning: see a lemon tree = to feel sadness)
the show.&
&The Show& by Lenka)
(metaphor:& the show = life)
(metaphor meaning: enjoy the show = enjoy life)
for University Alumni
A metaphor
is like a = b, where &a& is something
and &b& is some non-related thing, but...
there must a
common ground
between &a& and &b&.
For example, in English, a common
metaphor is:
teddy bear.
In that example:
is called, &the
of the metaphor&
&teddy bear&
is called &the
of the metaphor&
are cuddly and loveable
Many metaphors are
&hidden&, i.e., not so obvious.
For example:
I made up my
mind to do something.
Therein above, the metaphor is
&hidden& from view.
The actual metaphor is:&
my mind is material/matter
that can be composed.
= material/matter that can be composed
= both are able to
be manipulated
The phrase: &make up&,
is a two-part verb.
The whole expression:& &make
up one's mind&, is considered a metaphor, but not in the
traditional sense.
How do I mean?
Well, the word &mind&,
alone, does not function as a metaphor.& It is the
collocating verb, &make up& which makes it function as a
metaphor.& Thus, it could be called a &metaphorical
expression&, even though the actual metaphor is
&hidden& from view.
Let me give
you some more examples, 'cause I realize that perhaps one is not
enough for all persons to &grasp& the
concept.& Hey!& There's a metaphorical expression:&
&Grasp a concept.&& Wow!& Metaphors are
so common, aren't they?!
Let's look
at that one:& &Grasp a concept&, because
there are two ways of looking at it.& What we really mean, of
course, is &Understand a concept&, because we cannot
actually &grasp& a concept, because a concept is
intangible (untouchable).& So, there are TWO metaphors hidden
from view.
metaphor:& the mind is something that has
appendages (such as hands) that can grasp
= something that has grasping appendages
= both can attain things
metaphor:& a concept is a tangible object
= a tangible object
Ground = both can be attained
not believe this but Lakoff and Johnson, (1980), in their
ground-breaking (wow! another metaphor) book, Metaphors We
Live By, estimate that 70% of our spoken language (in
English, of course) is metaphorical in nature.& If you would
like to do more research on metaphors, I would highly recommend Metaphors
We Live By.& It is a classic.
The best book ever written about
& my main source for this page
(university
level English)
Different Kinds of
Lakoff and Johnson (1980) set us
(linguists) in motion to study, identify, and categorize
the different kinds of metaphors.& Others have
endeavored to continue the work.& To me, Lakoff and
Johnson are the fathers (a metaphor) of our understanding
of metaphors and their use in the English language.&
To some it might seem like a futile waste of time in that
it may seem useless.& A metaphor is a metaphor,
right?& Well, yes, and no.& Some metaphors
differ greatly from other metaphors.& For instance,
personification is quite different than other types of
metaphors, so different, in fact, that we have had a separate
label for it long before we even recognized it as a kind
of metaphor.& Herein below, I shall endeavor to
elucidate different kinds of metaphors:(1)
Conceptual MetaphorThere is what one
might call a &conceptual metaphor&, where A is
equated with B, but they are not related, and where A is to
be understood as having a &common ground& (common
concept) with B.Example:& I am a lion.
Common Ground:& strong, ferocious
Meaning:& I am strong and ferocious, like a lion.Example:&
&All the world is a stage.&& (Shakespeare)
Common Ground:& place for acting
Meaning:& The world is a place for people to act our
their lives, as if they were on a stage.(2)
Dead MetaphorThere is what is called a
&dead metaphor&, where the metaphor has become so
institutionalized, that it is NOT recognized as a metaphor
any longer.Example:& cycleExplanation:&
We know that &cycle& means circle, as in
&bicycle& (two circles), but the word
&cycle& by itself connotes a series of events that
repeat over and over again.& We don't think in terms of
a cycle as being a circle until we try to depict it in
diagram form.& In essence, we are NOT trying to
understand the word &cycle&
therefore, the metaphor is &dead&.(3)
Hidden Conceptual MetaphorsExample:&
Life is so bittersweet.Explanation:& A
metaphor MUST BE:& noun = noun.& &Sweet&
therefore, the actual metaphor is
hidden.& It is based upon a conceptual metaphor:&
likeable thing = good taste (sweet) and unlikable thing =
bad taste (bitter).Meaning:& Life is
full of unlikable things as well as likable things.
(4) Extended MetaphorsExample:&
Life is a journey.& You can take the high
road or the low road.& You should stop along
the way to smell the roses.& If you live life in
the fast lane, you're bound to cut your life/journey
short.& Sometimes the road is rocky, sometimes
it is smooth going.& Sometimes you encounter a dead
end, and you have to try a different road.&
The journey of life is so much more enjoyable if you
have a traveling companion.Explanation:&
The conceptual metaphor is &life is a
journey&.& However, I have extended that metaphor
into an analogy.&
metaphors on this page:& []&& []
Everything
you wanted to know about...
A metonymy
is similar to a metaphor, but
different in
function of a
metaphor is understanding.
function of a
metonymy is
reference.
Metonymy Type 1:& Part refers to whole
(Also Known As: Synecdoche)
There are two mouths to feed
in my family.
[mouth = person]
God bless the hands
that prepared this food.
[hand = person]
I count twenty heads
at the party.
[head = person]
　Metonymy Type 2:& Producer refers to product:Our company just bought a new Xerox
machine.[Xerox is the name
of a company that pr& Xerox machine = copy machine]A:
What kind of motorcycle do you have?
B: I have a Honda.[Honda
is the name of a company that
motorcycle]　Metonymy
Type 3:& Object
refers to user:The crown ordered all soldiers
to arms.[crown = king]The
pen is mightier than the sword.[pen
= sword = fighter]　Metonymy
Type 4:& Controller refers
to controlled person/thing:Usama bin Laden
(UBL) attacked the
World Trade Center in New York.[UBL = AlQaida forces]Bill
is the king of operating systems worldwide[Bill
Gates = Microsoft]　Metonymy
Type 5:& Institution
refers to person(s) in charge:The Pentagon announced it's
new policy yesterday.[Pentagon =
chiefs of staff at the Pentagon]The
White House called a press conference.[White
House = chiefs of staff at the White House]　Metonymy
Type 6:& Place
refers to Institution (in the place):Washington
petitions Beijing.[Washington = U.S.
& Beijing = Chinese government]Houston
defeats L.A.[Houston
= Houston R& L.A. = L.A. Lakers]　Metonymy
Type 7:& Place
refers to an Event (that occurred or occurs there): Remember the Alamo![Alamo = the battle at
Alamo, Texas, USA]Pearl
was a sad event in America's History.[Pearl
Harbor = the battle at Pear Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941]　
Two More types of Metonymy *** (added: Feb. 19, 2004):Metonymy
Type 8:& Person in group refers to the whole group (similar
to type 1)Yao
defeated Shaquille O'Neal.[Yao
Ming = Houston R& Shaquille O'Neal = L.A. Lakers]　Metonymy
Type 9:& Date refers to the event of that date (similar
to type 7, but different)Hopefully,
9/11 will never happen again.&[9/11
= the destruction of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on
that day: 9/11/2001]　
Memorable Metaphors &
Sample Similes(with a
few Metonymies thrown in for good measure)
These lessons have been stopped a long time
ago, but I'll leave them here for perpetual education.(C)
2001 to present by Leon of Leon's Planet ()May
be reproduced for educational purposes, but please give credit to
me, and please provide a link to this page.
Posted:& for the week of Dec.
&Be water&& [
Metaphor ]&
Explanation:
&I am water& means:& [In Chinese astrology] I
have a water symbol, which means that I have water
characteristics: soft, fluid (flexible), flowing (consistent),
etc.Also:& &Be a mouse&
[ Metaphor ]Explanation:&I am a mouse& means: [In Chinese
astrology] I have the astrological sign of a mouse, which means
that I have the characteristics of a mouse: quiet, nosy,
surreptitious, industrious, clever, etc.
Posted:& for the week of Dec.
&Be like water&&
[ Simile ]
Original Quote by Bruce Lee:
"You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become
like water my friend.”&
Explanation:
Like , a person's mind, body and soul should be able to adapt to his surroundings. When water filters out of a
it is the form of the faucet but changes shape once it's in a
. A person at peace with their surroundings in all aspects is a happy person. As the rain water filters from the sky in drops it will then coalesce into a puddle. To be like water is to have an open view of the world and life that can help you achieve your goals.
Posted:& for the week of Dec.
Be &out of one's mind&&
[ Metaphor ]&&
Explanation:
&I'm out of my mind& means:& I don't know what
I'& I'm temporarily insane.Also:&
Change one's mind& [
Metonymy ]Explanation:Mind = function of
i.e., thinkingSo, &I've changed my mind,&
means:& &I have changed my thinking.&
Posted:& for the week of Dec.
Be &like-minded&&
[ Simile ]&&
Explanation:
&We are like-minded individuals,& means we have
similar minds.Also:& The mind is
like a house.& [ Simile ]Explanation:As
a house has rooms, so the mind has compartments.& The mind
categorizes information into compartments, just as one would store
things in a house.& For instance, one puts cookware in the
kitchen.& One puts tools in the garage.& One puts
clothing in the bedroom.& The mind does the same in that it
compartmentalizes information, with doorways (links) to other
rooms (compartments).
Posted:& for the week of Nov.
The customer is king.& [
Metaphor ]
Explanation:
A salesperson should treat the customer/client like a king, in
order to make a lot of money.
Posted:& for the week of Nov.
To live like a king.& [
Explanation:
Living like a king means living in luxury.
Posted:& for the week of Nov.
Actions speak louder than words.&
[ Personification (conceptual metaphor) ]
Explanation:
The conceptual metaphor:& An action is a person.&
(Because it can speak).
Meaning:& What somebody does is more important than what somebody says.
Posted:& for the week of Nov.
Two heads are better than one.&
[ proverbial metonymy, or metonymous proverb? ]
Explanation:
Head refers to person.& [Synecdoche:& The part = the
whole].& [Synecdoche is a kind of metonymy].
&Two head are better than one& means:& two
thinking people are better than one thinking person (usually to
solve a problem).
Posted:& for the week of Nov.
To get under one's skin.&
[ Metaphor ]
Explanation:
&To get under one's skin& means to bother to somebody.
&I've got you under my
skin& or &You are under my skin& means &you
bother me.&
1.& My creditors keep bothering me for more money.&
They are getting under my skin.
2.& My job is very boring and tedious.& It is getting
under my skin.
3.& I am so infatuated with
you.& I've got you under
Posted:& for the week of Oct.
To be a demi-god / diva.&
[ Metaphor ]
Explanation:
&Demi-& means 1/2.&
So, a demigod is half god... a male being who is half god. (A
&demigoddess& is a female, BUT, we
usually use the word: &Diva&).& Hercules was a
demigod.& However, this term is used
metaphorically to/about& any person who has reached a very
elevated level of fame and popularity.
Michael Jackson was a
demigod in the music world.
Madonna (the singer) is a diva.
Posted:& for the week of Oct.
To be a ten.& [
Metaphor ]
Explanation:
In the English-speaking communities, we tend to use a scale of
1 to 10 for rating things.& Therefore, to be a ten, means:&
to be perfect.& Sample sentences:
Sample Dialogue:
A:& How is your new girlfriend?
B:& She's fine.
A:& No, I mean how IS she?
B:& Oh, she is a
perfect ten!
A:& No kidding?
B:& Yeah.... great body, great personality, great sense of
Posted:& for the week of Oct.
To be/feel down, or to
be/feel down in the dumps& [ Metaphor ]
Explanation:
The metaphor is a hidden one.& If I say, &I'm
down& or &I feel down,& I most likely mean that I
orientational metaphor:& DOWN IS BAD.& UP IS
If I say, &I feel up,&& I mean that my feeling
If I say, &He's looking up,& I mean that he's looking
If I say, &She appears to be down in the dumps,&&
I mean she seems to be very sad.
Posted: for the week of Oct. 7,
The circle of life& [
Metaphor ]
Explanation:
The circle of life is sometimes called the cycle
of life.& It means that the events of being born and dying recur
over and over again, like a circle/cycle.
Posted: for the week of Oct. 7,
like a circle& [ Simile ]
A cycle is like a circle, because it has no beginning
and no end.
Explanation:
&Cycle& literally means &circle& in Greek,
but in English the word &cycle& is used both literally
and figuratively.& When combined with &bi& to make
&bicycle&, it is being used literally.
Listen to &The
Circle of Life& by Elton John
Posted: for the Week of Sept. 23,
to go on a
________ run& [ Metaphor ]
Explanation:
&To go on a ______ run&
means: &to drive [not run] to the store and buy/get ____((sth))______.&
Sample sentence:
We're out of beer.& I'm going to go on a beer
Other &Run& metaphors:
1.& I have some
errands to
run.2.& I have a run in my stocking.
3.& Do you have
running water in your house?
4.& There's a run on the bank.
5.& What's the
run this flag up the flag pole.
running on empty.
8.& My car is
running on empty.
9.& I don't know how to
10.& Please
run those statistics
by me one more time.
Posted: for the Week of Sept. 23,
like lightning& [
as lightning& [
as fast as lighting& [
Explanation:
&like lightning& means &to be as fast as
lightning&
&like lightning& = &as lightning&
1.& He ran as fast as lightning.& [ Hyperbole ]
2.& Bad news travels like lightning.& [ Hyperbole ]
3.& Satan, as lightning, fell from heaven.
Posted:& for the week of Sept.
to bear one's cross& [
Metaphor ]
Explanation:
The cross is a symbol of the pain and suffering that people
used to experience when crucified.& This is an allusion to
the Jesus Christ story.& When Jesus Christ was to be
crucified, he was forced to carry (bear) his own cross to the
crucifixion site.& So, to bear one's own cross means to bear
(endure) one's problem(s) alone.& Since the cross was a tool
of torture and execution, the implication is that your problem(s)
include pain and torment.&
I bear my cross by enduring the
pain of lost wife and being a single dad.
Posted:& for the week of Sept.
9, 2001:&&
having a monkey on one's back&
(linguistic metaphor)
Explanation:
Having a monkey on one's back means having a serious problem
that just won't go away.
Sample Sentences:
My dad has a monkey on his back.& He can't seem to stop
I have a monkey on my back.& My ex-wife keeps bothering me
for money.
Posted:& for the week of Sept.
& Blue skies&
[ Metaphor ]
& Gray skies&
[ Metaphor ]
Explanation:
The metaphor, &Blue skies,&
means/represents a state of happiness.& The metaphor, &Gray
skies,& means/represents a state of melancholy.
BE CAREFUL:& &To be
blue& means &to be sad&.
There are only blue skies in their life right now, because they
just got married.& On the other hand, my life is full of gray
skies, because I just got a divorce.
I wish some woman would bring my blue skies back.& I'm
sick and tired of the gray skies in my life.
I wish I knew how to make these gray skies go away.
&Blue Skies& by Noah and the Whale
Posted:& for the week of Aug.
A vehicle is a female.&
[ Conceptual metaphor ]
Explanation:
Men usually refer to their vehicles in the feminine.& The
reason for this is because usually vehicles are cherished,
delicate, and beautiful, just as a woman is to a man.& This
kind of metaphor is called &personification.&
I just got a new car.& Isn't she
Our ship is old.& She needs a
new paint job.
My motorcycle is sounding terrible.& I think I'll give her
a tune-up.
Posted:& for the week of July
29th, 2001:
A stitch in time saves nine&
(proverbial
Explanation:
&in time&& means:& as soon as possible, i.e.,
immediately
&saves nine& means:& conserves nine extra
The whole thing means:& if you mend some clothes
immediately after a tear appears, it'll take nine less stitches
(saving time, money, and resources).
The metaphor is that if you fix any problem immediately, it'll
save a lot of time, and money and resources.
Posted:& July 25, 2001:& bridge
metaphors (linguistic)
bridge over troubled water =
solution to a problem [bridge = troubled water =
let's cross that bridge when we come
to it = let's deal with that problem when is arises.
it's water under the bridge
= it's history
bridge (v.) = make a
connection
&Bridge Over Troubled Water& by Paul Simon
Posted:& July 24, 2001:& tree
metaphors& (linguistic)
the tree of life& (symbol of eternal life)
the tree of knowledge of good and evil& (symbol of carnal
knowledge)
the family tree (symbol of one's genealogy and relatives)
He has deep roots here.& (roots = ancestors)
A man with no roots, is not a man for me.& (roots =
prominent ancestors)
Posted:& July 23, 2001:& water
metaphors (linguistic)
The fountain of youth.& (tonic of rejuvenation and eternal
An ocean of ideas.& (many ideas)
He is a river of ideas.& (his ideas just keep coming)
Posted:& July 22, 2001:& ideas
= food& (conceptual metaphor)
half-baked ideas
warmed-over theories
That's a fishy story.
It's food for thought.
Let's let that idea percolate for a while.
Let's let that idea simmer on the back burner for a while.
That idea has been fermenting for year.
This is the meaty part of the paper.
Posted:& July 21, 2001:& cognition
= eating& (conceptual metaphor)
That information is hard to swallow.
I couldn't quite digest your
All that heard the choir were edified.
I'm still chewing on your words
from last night.
I regurgitated everything that I
learned for the test.
Don't make me throw up.
It's food for thought.
He has a voracious appetite for
science fiction.
Some teachers spoon-feed their
I devoured that book.
Posted:& July
20, 2001:& see the world through rose-colored
Explanation:
This is a linguistic metaphor.
The metaphor means that the person wearing the rose-colored
glasses perceives the world to be a wonderful place.& That's
why we say, &rose-colored.&& Yet the fact that the
person is wearing lenses means that the person's perception is not
100% realistic.& In fact, the person is usually blind to the
bad things in the world.& Why?& Because that person's
life is quite good at that time.
He sees the world through
rose-colored glasses.
{Meaning: He has a good out-look on life.
Posted:& July 19, 2001:&&energy
is money (conceptual
Don't waist your energy.
Oh, I spent too much energy
today.& I'm exhausted.
Let's save energy.
Posted:& July 18, 2001:&
kinds of metaphors
There have been people who've attempted to categorized
metaphors.& For now, I will discuss only two kinds of
metaphors:& conceptual metaphors
and linguistic metaphors.&&
CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS:
Conceptual Metaphors are metaphors in our psyche.& There
is big controversy about which came first, the concept or the
metaphor.& Conceptual metaphors are not written nor spoken,
but do influence our writings and speech.
LINGUISTIC METAPHORS:
Linguistic metaphors are written and spoken.& These are
divided into old and new linguistic metaphors.& The old are
common knowledge.& The new are made by someone to illustrate
a point, as for a speech or a debate.& Linguistic metaphors
have influence on our conceptual system, and therefore, old
linguistic metaphors might be considered to be conceptual
metaphors as well.
Posted:& July 13, 2001:& heart
= the container of one's good
I love you with all my heart.
I thank you from the bottom of my
heart.& (I deeply thank you, with all the contents
of gratitude and love in my heart).
You broke my heart.&
(You broke the container of my good emotions and all the contents
have spilled out.)
You are a heartless jerk!
( &jerk& is slang, check out the )
Eat your heart out!&
(You may be envious.)
Have a heart, please.&
(Please be generous/merciful.)
I gave you my heart.&
(I gave you my love.)
Lionhearted (a.) = very
generous/merciful
Posted:& July 12, 2001:& head
= most important, #1, top
He is the head of this department.
The headlines are at the top
of the article.
She is the head coach of the
basketball team.
The captain is the head
of the ship.
The capital is the head
city of a country.
George W. Bush is the head of
Posted:& July 11, 2001:& carte
blanche (white card)
Explanation:
A long time ago in France (and maybe England), if a rich man or
a nobleman gave you a white card (maybe with his/her personal seal
(도장)) and instructed you to write what ever you wanted on it,
you could get it, at the card owner's expense.& At least,
that's what I heard about the origin of the expression.& In
essence, the person with the white card had complete power, within
the power of the giver of the 'white card'.& In English,
&carte blanche& is commonly used as an adverb:
He was given control carte
blanche of the company.
We have another expression in English which is very similar:
One can write his/her own ticket.&
Posted:& July 10, 2001:& in/on
is right/good,
out/off is wrong/bad
Get out.& (You must be
wrong... I don't believe you.)
You are in.& (You are
You are way off base.& (You
are very wrong.)
You are right on!& (You are
exactly correct.)
You hit the nail on the head.&
(You are exactly correct.)
He is off his rocker.& (He is
He is out of his mind.& (He
is crazy.)
She is in tune with life.&
(She is astute/sensitive to life.)
She is right on track.& (She
is going in the right direction.)
She is off track.& (She is
going in the wrong direction.)
Her argument has been derailed.&
(Her argument has been proven wrong.)
I'm in the groove.& (I'm in a
good mood, because my situation is good.)
He is out in left field.& (He
is out of the right, and in the wrong.)
The& price is in the ballpark
of my price range.& [near, almost right]
***He's in the doghouse.& ***(He has done something
wrong and his wife/girlfriend is punishing him.)& This seems
contrary to the metaphor (above), but it is not, because &in
the doghouse& means &outside the
He is out to lunch.& (He is
temporarily insane.)
Posted:& July 9, 2001:& Life
is a journey.
Look at my life!& So far so good.
On the road of life, there are
many crossroads.
I took the path less traveled
by, and that has made all the difference.& (Frost)
Your journey through life will be
much easier if you heed the road signs.
Put yourself in my shoes!
Life is a roller coaster ride.
I wanna go back home.& (I
want to die.)
Stop and smell the roses.&
(Stop working and enjoy life from time to time.)
We're at the end of the line.&
(We will die soon.)
We're lying (knocking) at death's door.&
(We will die soon.)
See you on the other side.& (Life's
journey doesn't end at death...)
When life bucks you off, you
should get back on.
Take the reins of fate.&
(Take control of your life.)
If you don't ride life, she will ride
you.& (same as above)
Listen to &End
of the Line& originally by Tom Petty and the Traveling
Wilbury's, but performed by Stevie Riks
Posted:& July 8, 2001:& Relationships
are a journey.
Our relationship....so far so good.
Our relationship is a dead-end street.
Our relationship has been a long, bumpy
Our marriage is on the rocks.&
(sea voyage)
Our love has gone off the tracks.&
(train trip)
In our relationship, we are just spinning
our wheels.& (car trip)
We are past the point of no return.
There's no turning back now.
I don't think this relationship is going
We're at a crossroads.
Look how far we've come, baby.
Posted:& July 7, 2001:& Love
She captured my heart.
You stole my heart.
He broke my heart.
You hurt me.
There is a fortress around
your heart. (Sting)
You broke down my defenses.
I'm a prisoner of your
Let me go! i.e., Release
me, and let me love again.& (Elvis Presley)
What's your strategy to
make her love you?
She shot me down.
I'll take a shot at love.
I surrendered my heart to
Posted:& July 6, 2001:& Life
is a game.
You win some and you lose
&&&& (meaning:& sometimes you have
success in life, and sometimes you don't.)
There are two kinds of people in this world:& winners
and losers.
&&&& (meaning:& There are successful
people and unsuccessful people.)
Three strikes and you're
&&&& (meaning:& You only get three
chances in life.)
It's not whether you win or
lose that matters, it's how
you play the game.
(meaning:&
Living honestly (no cheating) is the best way to live.)
Don't run faster than you
have strength.
&&&& (meaning:& Don't try to do more
than you can do.)
In the game of life,
there's no reset button.
&&&& (meaning:& You only live once, so
make the best of it.)
Game over.
&&&& (meaning:& death.)
Posted:& July 5, 2001:& Time
How do you spend your time?
My time is valuable.
Don't waist my time.
If you give me some of your time, I'll pay
you back with some of my time.
The criminal spent twenty
years in jail.& He paid
his debt to society.
July 4, 2001:& Sorry, I made a mistake yesterday!
face& is NOT a metaphor.& It is called a metonymy.&
A metonymy is:& part equals the whole.& For
example:&&
1.& God bless the hands
that prepared this meal.
hands = person
2.& I have three mouths
mouths = persons
3.& How many heads
of cattle do you have?
heads = cows
4.& Nice wheels!
wheels = car
5.& I like your new threads!
threads = clothes
On the other hand, a metaphor
is one thing equals another thing, because they have something in
common.& They are not 100% only parts of the two are
equal.& For example:
1.& Life's
a bowl full of cherries. ( 삶은
제리로 가득찬 그릇이다.
Why do we say that?&
Because life and cherries have some things in common.& Eating
cherries can be fun.& Life can be fun.& Eating cherries
can be difficult, because you have to avoid swallowing the pits.&
Also, life has it's difficulties.
July 3, 2001:& new face
face' is a new celebrity, or a new person in the office, or
a new person on a team.
A Long List
of Some Common
Written, complied by, and
brought to you by Leon
vegetable metaphors
a vegetable
a quadriplegic
a couch potato
a person who sits on the couch and eats potato chips
all day long
an ear of corn
one 'stick' of corn
a head of lettuce
one lettuce plant
fruit metaphors
big banana (not polite)
boss (not polite)
a machine that breaks down shortly after
a damned-if-you-do,
damned-if-you-don't situation
term of endearment to a cute child
The Big Apple
The apple of my eye
my most cherished person
sour grapes
pretty girl
fine, okay
bitter person
animal metaphors
beautiful woman
scared/frightened person
dirty person
lazy person
bad man, ugly woman
scroll down for more dog metaphors
snake / serpent
cunning person
very fat person
reasonably fat person
big, strong man
big, athletic man
night person
aggressive person (bad meaning)
aggressive person (good meaning)
bottom dweller
scavenger, freeloader
embarrassed
timid, shy
physically slow person
physically very slow person
a show-off
greedy person
lionhearted
clam up (phrasal verb)
close one's mouth and refuse to talk
person who likes to read a lot
dummy / idiot
duck (v.i.)
stick your head down like a duck fishing in a
pond/lake.
weasel out of (doing
use cunning to avoid some responsibility
nagger, complainer (esp, about a woman)
trouble-maker (esp. used for children)
disliked person (왕따)
lowest, most-hated person (상놈,녀)
human child
dinosaur (derogatory)
very old person
yellow-bellied lizard
dummy / idiot
small person
dog metaphorical
idioms ( + proverbs & dog similes)
It's a dog-eat-dog world.
There are plenty of people in the world who will
take advantage of you, if given the chance.
I'm dog-tired.
I'm really tired.
work like a dog.&
work really hard.
sick as a dog.
really, very sick.
in the doghouse
out of one's good graces
go home and kick the dog
relieve one's stress or anger, by hurting an
innocent party
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Let bygones be bygones.
dog one's trail (verb phrase)
follow (sb)
best person (at doing
the weaker party in a competition
dog-eared pages
pages with one corner folded down
1.wiener/frank/sausage link on a bun
2.a show-off
a wiener/frank/sausage link covered with corn bread
Dog gone it!
[instead of] God damn it!
Metaphorical Proverbs
Time is money.
Time is a precious/valuable thing.
The customer is king.
The salesperson should treat the customer like a
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Noisy people get attention.
One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.
One bad person in a group can have a bad effect on
the whole group.
Suck the marrow out of life.
Enjoy life to the fullest.
Life sucks.
Life is hard to endure.
Cease the day.
Take the opportunities each day.
Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Don't try to do more than you can do.
1.& to see red = to be angry
2.& to be in the red = to be in financial danger
3.& red flag, as in &red flag going up& =
4.& red card = foul (can be used as a linguistic
metaphor as well as a symbol)
5.& red carpet, as in &roll out the red
carpet& = treat like royalty
1.& to be yellow = to be cowardly
ORIGIN:& It is the
educated opinion of this author that the origin of this colorful metaphor has nothing
to do with skin color.& It comes from the metaphor:&
yellowbelly.& Originally, a yellowbelly is a kind of lizard with a
yellow belly indigenous to the Western U.S.A..& The metaphorical
meaning is a coward.& The common
ground between (1) a
cowardly person and (2) a yellowbelly lizard& is:
&they both run away to
avoid a confrontation with someone or something bigger than they
2.& yellow card = warning
1.& to be green = to be new at
2.& greenie = a
newbie, a neophyte
3.& green thumb = skill at growing plants
4.& greens = green vegetables [this is not a
metaphor, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway]
5.& green light = safe to proceed
1.& to be blue = to be sad
2.& blue skies = happiness [rain = sadness, grief]
3.& to be blue in the face = to be exasperated [not a
just thought I'd throw it in]
4.& the blues = sad songs
5.& &singing the blues& = being sad, being
melancholy
6.& blue balls = pain in the testicles from lack of
ejaculation
1.& purple heart = bravery
1.& lily white = pure
2.& white as the driven snow = pure white [this is a
simile, not a metaphor]
3.& white glove = inspection (comes from the
military, where inspectors use white gloves to inspect the cleanliness of
4.& &whities& = Caucasians (those with pale skin)&
[this is a metonymy, not a metaphor]
5.& white head = a pimple with a white top [this is a
metonymy (white), mixed with a metaphor (head)]
1.& black = tainted, impure, wicked
2.& black-hearted = wicked
3.& to be in the black = to be out of financial
4.& black magic = wicked magic [white magic =
righteous magic]