Aren’t clichés actually dead metaphors or similes? But if that’s true, then how can "He was tall, dark and handsome" be a cliché? An individual may literally be tall, dark and handsome.ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Published:
December 8, 2011
A: Dead metaphors may be clichés, but not all clichés are dead metaphors. Let me explain.
Dead metaphors are metaphors that have been so overused that they’ve lost their figurative qualities. For example:
When he returned from vacation, memos, documents and vouchers were strewn across his desk. He took off his coat and dove in.
This
metaphor—to dive in—was once fresh, but has become so common that
readers don’t think of the imagery of water and a diver so much as the
meaning of the phrase—to immerse fully in a task. Dead metaphors are
easy to come by; you’ll often hear them in daily language:
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