as in code word
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Recent Examples of dead metaphor
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dead metaphor
Noun
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Here’s a handy decoder for the code words used by flight attendants.—
Forbes.com,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
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The animation in the video draws one’s consciousness in like a vortex, and the three sweets that make up the name are suggestive of some sort of code word.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
16 June 2025
Noun
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No, but my aesthetic judgment had given over to its vibes, that contemporary euphemism for ultra-processed atmosphere.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
4 July 2025
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Children and grief: Stop using euphemisms about death Now, the former president, 82, faces his own cancer diagnosis.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
21 May 2025
Noun
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The analogy is followed by another, comparing criminals to lions.—
Hannah Dreyfus,
AZCentral.com,
3 July 2025
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Basketball is like jazz in so many ways that the analogy has become a cliché.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
23 June 2025
Noun
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Ogwumike promised the on-stage conversations would be wide-ranging and not, to use a sports metaphor, filled with softball questions.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
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In thinking about faraway prospects such as Palencia, Hoyer used a different sports metaphor.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Noun
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What’s the difference between a simile and a metaphor?—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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No metaphors or similes or hyperbolic language needed here – your kids are next.—
Rob Gagnon,
Hartford Courant,
25 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dead metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dead%20metaphor. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
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