In a world where skimming and snacking is our default way of operating, vivid images can be an express trip to understanding.
Metaphors are magic when you want to explain something complicated, give an idea of size, make a point memorably – or just make someone smile.
“Metaphors are wonderful for helping us express ideas in vivid and highly memorable pictures, so that we understand and internalise concepts more creatively and effectively,” explains Science World. Metaphors “make the strange seem familiar,” says Roy Peter Clark in HELP! For Writers.
Metaphors show how two things are alike, without actually using the word like. The January issue of my newsletter, Wordnerdery, includes a selection of examples I’ve stumbled upon, including this:
- “It must have been a thousand degrees and his air conditioning had the equivalent cooling power of a cat yawning.” – Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Fleishman Is In Trouble
What great metaphors have you spotted? Please share. I’m always looking for interesting examples.
Being a tennis fan, I remember back to the 1970’s, Bjorn Borg was winning his 6 French Open Clay Court Championships. At some point in that streak, one British tennis journalists wrote an article describing Borg’s play as follows: “In his triumph, The Great Borg worked the clay with the dexterity of a potter.” Or something closely along those lines using the “dexterity of a potter” phrase. In the sports journalistic world, particularly tennis, that phrase describing Borg’s mastery always brings a smile to me.
Journalists do love to play with words! That’s a good one, thanks for sharing.