Mixed metaphor

Listen to ArtisanEnglish.jp posts & lesson intros here.

WotD: Mixed metaphor

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

So, you are an English learner, and you find it challenging to keep idioms, expressions and phrases straight.

Well, you are not the only one to mix metaphors.

Native speakers unintentionally do it all the time.

You see, we have a mixed metaphor when someone uses two or more incompatible metaphors together.

Often this mixing sounds foolish or funny.

Try as I might, I could not come up with one on my own.

Life often goes like that. Just when you want to think of something, your mind goes blank.

For this reason, I had to go to Google for some examples of mixed metaphors.

This is what I found:

The new job has allowed her to spread her wings and blossom.
Cambridge Dictionary

This is a mixed metaphor because the two idioms don’t make sense together.

To spread your wings is the same as branching out.

We have the image of flying off to do or try new things.

To blossom means to become more confident, successful, or beautiful.

We have the image of a confident flower flying away to do new things.

Individually they work, but together they are incompatible and form a mixed metaphor.

Federal Judge Susan Webber Wright stepped up to the plate and called a foul.
ThoughtCo.

Here we have two sports-related idioms.

If you step up to the plate (baseball), you are willing to try and give your best effort.

A referee often calls a foul, but a player steps up to the plate.

Like or follow ArtisanEnglish.jp on social media.

How could the judge do both at the same time?

Again, both of these expressions are incongruous in the same sentence.

When used together, they create a mixed metaphor.

This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.