Lakoff and Johnson discuss how metaphor creeps into our daily speech in ways that we often do not recognize. One example they offer is the abundance of metaphorical language associating aspects of time with aspects of money. Their essay uses this example to demonstrate how common metaphors in our speech patterns reveal common concepts in our thinking (i.e., “that time is a limited resource” or “time is a valuable commodity”). Interestingly, another metaphor often associated with money is water. Assets often have “liquidity.” Bank accounts are sometimes “frozen.”
After you read the article, think about common phrases that contain hidden metaphors. Choose two and write ~100 words on each metaphorical phrase. Your goal is to theorize–to make a guess or a hypothesis–about the larger associative concepts behind these ordinary metaphors that people use without realizing it. Lakoff and Johnson’s essay provides an excellent model for how to do this.
In your response, you should try to include (1) your own description of the metaphor, (2) a discussion of the contexts in which it is used, such as where you have heard it before, (3) a brainstormed interpretation regarding the many possible associations of ideas that this metaphor links (i.e., that time and money are both valuable in some way, or that water and digitized money seem to “flow” in different directions), and (4) a clear statement of your theory about the hidden concept that this metaphor reveals.
***Note*** Since some of you speak languages other than English, I would encourage you to analyze one (or even two) non-English expression(s). If you go this route, make sure that you translate the expression into English in your post so that non-speakers of the language can follow.
Brittany A. Cevallos,
“Pot calling the kettle black”
To call the kettle black is to call itself the same as well because the positions of both objects are not far off from each other. When students would in middle school would make fun of someone with a lower grade a teacher would step in and say that’s like the “pot calling the kettle black” because you only got two points higher. To me the phrase represents situations where common figures dispute over relatives. This metaphor reveals how quick society is to attack certain individuals without regarding themselves.
“Burst your bubble”
To burst a bubble is to destroy a childlike happiness in a matter of seconds. Once again referring back to middle school a student would say they got the highest score and someone would interrupt and say “sorry to burst your bubble sweetie but Alexa actually got the highest score”. To burst a bubble is once again to remove someones excitement and happiness in a matter of seconds. The metaphor reveals how quickly people inflate themselves and become overconfident just to doubt themselves as soon as they see someone doing better.
Randolph Harrison
“Life is a roller coaster”
This metaphor is describing life as a ride that everyone takes, one which has ups and downs. I’ve heard this being used when people are reflecting on their lives, or are going through a drastic change. What the ups and downs of this metaphor could represent are emotional levels and events that are happening in one’s life. What I personally think is that it has to do with emotions; the ups are a state of being happy, and then the downs are a state of being sad. And since a roller coaster is constantly moving forward, eventually ups will be followed by downs and downs will be followed by ups, creating a cyclical system.
“America is a melting pot”
This metaphor is describing the United States as a mix of many backgrounds all living together. I’ve heard this being used in my FYS class when we were discussing the book, “The Island at the Center of the World” by Russell Shorto. This metaphor is trying to depict the United States as a homologous substance, being comprised of many different things. These things include race, ethnicity, social status, economic status, and political views. My own view of this metaphor is that it doesn’t give the full picture of what the situation of the United States really is. It’s true that many different people live together in the United States, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they get along, which someone might infer from this metaphor. There is still a lot of racial and ethnic tension in the United States, so it is something that people should keep in mind when seeing or hearing this quote.
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”
This metaphor is used to describe extreme hunger. Many people use this metaphor in their everyday language to exaggerate how hungry they are. In most cases people use this metaphor when they haven’t eaten in a few hours. This metaphor links hunger with a horse, because of how unreasonable it is to eat a whole horse in one sitting. It is meant to amplify how hungry a person is because of its illogical nature. This metaphor doesn’t have a hidden concept, its pretty straight forward.
“He’s a couch potato.”
This metaphor is used to describe someone who is lazy, and has minimal motivation to move from one spot for extended periods of time. People tend to use this when they’ve been sitting in on spot for a few hours, or haven’t left their house all day. This metaphor describes someone as a couch potato because couches are associated with relaxing/being unproductive, and potatoes are high in carbohydrates, which is know to be unhealthy. So in other words, the term “couch potato” means someone is lazy and fat. The hidden concept of this metaphor is to describe when someone hasn’t done anything or moved much in an extended period of time.
Derick Borbon
“Blood, Sweat, and Tears”
To put your “blood, sweat, and tears” into something is to give it your all. This phrase is usually used when someone goes the extra mile to accomplish a task. If you think about it, “blood, sweat, and tears” loosely translates to effort, hard work, and consideration. The blood, sweat, and tears symbolize the level of dedication one puts into something. Whenever we see blood, sweat, or tears, it is usually when we are in pain or uncomfortable. The person, though accomplishing the task with a high level of dedication may have been difficult or uncomfortable, put the project or task before themselves.
“Make yourself at home”
To make yourself at home is to make yourself feel comfortable in a certain place, as comfortable as you would feel in your very own home. This phrase is mostly used when someone is staying as a guest over at another person’s house, and the host wants the guest to feel free and at home. The word “home” conveys comfort and familiarity, making the guest feel comfortable and like they belong. This metaphor reveals that people feel the most comforted and welcome in places they feel like are home.
Time is money, a metaphor that many people use in their everyday lives. In our culture, money is a valuable commodity that our society considers to be one of the most important things to set your social stance. Using a metaphor to compare the aspect of time to something so valuable, widely speaks for how common it is for our society to dramatize things without even realizing. Subconsciously, people have started to value time even more than money. For example, when someone says, “this flat tire cost me an hour,” they are more concerned with the time lost, rather than the money actually spent to fix the tire.
The metaphor that “argument is war” is reflected in our everyday language by using terms such as “shot down the argument” and “attacked every weak point,” it’s as if our society is in a constant war with each other. The concept of using strategies to win or lose an argument sets a standard in our culture and society that puts people on an attack mode when trying to solve a problem. People are distracted by the concept of ‘being right” by proving others wrong, when in reality, most arguments do not result in a correct answer.
Keshav Bhati
“Elephant in the room”
Elephant in the room simply means the main topic that should be addressed but is being avoided. People generally use this when an awkward situation arises within a conversation and people are avoiding the main topic or sensitive topic that should be talked about. If there is something that two or more people know they should clear up and discuss sometimes they avoid it even if they know it’s a very large issue. Similar to how elephants are very large and if it were in front of you, you’d notice it and probably point it out. This metaphor shows how there could be a very large issue at hand and people may still find a way to avoid it.
“Life is a journey”
People use terms such as paths, crossroads, places, etc. when talking about people and their positions in life to describe how life is a continuous thing that is different for everyone. People use these phrases to usually show how someone is doing in their life whether they are in a good “place’ or bad “place”. A journey is something with a beginning and end, usually journeys in movies or books have conflicts resolution and the characters in these journeys sometimes are in a good situation or a bad one similar to life. This metaphor most likely came along to show the complexities of life and its ongoing adventures.
“Time is money”
This metaphor is commonly used when someone is in a rush to get somewhere and or do something important. This can also be used when one feels that their time is being wasted. I have heard this metaphor countless times on television, read it in books and said it my self. Time is being compared to money implying that time has value. This might also be more literal because people make money over time. For instance, working an 8 hour shift and getting paid hourly. This metaphor can also suggest that time should’ve be used wisely to one’s benefit and not wasted. Wasting time is like wasting money.
“Knock yourself out”
This metaphor is commonly used to tell one “do as you wish”. Most of the time the user has little regard for the person they say this to. Sometimes this phrase is used to encourage or to allow someone to do something. Other times this simply means to have fun. The term “knock your self out”, in a literal sense, suggests that a person does so much of something, that they render themselves unconscious. For instance if a kid asks his friend for some french fries, and the kid’s friend responds, “ Sure, knock yourself out”, it is used in an encouraging manner.
Erica Fedukovitch
“Fishing for a compliment” is a metaphorical phrase used to describe when someone is searching, with effort, for a compliment. The word “fishing” in the metaphor does not actually mean to fish. Instead, it means to search for something that requires extra effort to obtain. When one uses this metaphor, it is used to describe someone who is searching for attention by making comments that are self-deprecating. The person is expecting, in turn, to receive a compliment to feel better about themselves. Therefore, they are going out of their way to receive a compliment.
“Broken heart” is a metaphor used to describe a feeling of extreme sadness. When someone or something hurts you, your heart does not actually break into pieces. However, you feel emotional pain, which is when your emotions start hurting you. “Broken” is a way to describe the pain one may feel emotionally, not physically.
“No use crying over spilt milk”
This is used when a person is complaining and/or whining about something that cannot be changed or done over. Since the “milk” has already been spilled, there is really no need in crying over it because in reality, it won’t help the situation. In many occasions where this is used, it would be motivate the person being told it to do something about the situation they may have been “crying” over. The phrases overall meaning is basically to “get over it”.
“When it rains, it pours”
This is used to describe a major event or situation that occurred. The situation is usually a certain event does not happen often but when it does occur, it will happen to its fullest extent. This phrase is referring to a heavy rainstorm that can happen all of a sudden, with or without having known that it would happen. This metaphor came to be to be able to describe this specific type of event or situation.
“She is as pretty as a picture”
The metaphor “She is as pretty as a picture” has a variety of different meanings, to me it means the female they are describing is women with no flaws and is perfected. The term is used in many discussions such as, someone describing who someone is into. For instance in the past I have stated, “Bryan is always dating women who are as pretty as a picture”. There are multiple different ways this metaphor can be used to discuss someone. This statement doesn’t have to be used just to describe someone but can also be used to describe something. Although the statement is used to describe someone this situation also demonstrates someone having a strong opinion about someone and how they physically appeal to somebody else and there feeling towards someones appearance.
“You light up my life”
The metaphor “You light up my life” has multiple meanings , for instance for me it means a person giving you hope.However this statement can also be used in a sarcastic tone because you cant literally light up someones life, this statement isn’t a literal sentence so it can be viewed in different ways. Although there are different ways to perceive this metaphor it is usually stated in a positive way. An example of the metaphor being used that I have heard is when I bring someone coffee they always tell me I “light up” there life because of how I randomly surprised them.
“Curveball”
The phrase comes from baseball. The origin of the pitch came from a pitcher in the 1870’s Candy Cummings. When the pitch was first used, people believed it to be an optical illusion. The incredible, unseen movement of the pitch had caught hitter off guard, hence why this phrase is still used today. I heard this phrase not only from my time playing, but also in media, such as movies or a TV show, when something unexpected occurs. The way it is used outside of the sport is in the fashion of a question, that catches somebody off guard. This phrase is used to compare the unpredictability that a curveball brings to a batter, and how our lives are unpredictable; Anything can happen, especially when we are not expecting it.
“The ball is in your court”
I believe that this term comes from the sport of tennis. The ball being in “your court” means that it is your opponent’s turn to hit the ball. However, this is not the only use for the phrase. I mostly hear the phrase as it refers to somebody doing their part with something, so it is somebody else’s responsibility now. I use the word “responsibility” to refer to that it is up to another person on whether the task is complete. You have done your part already. I have also heard this while people make plans, meaning that it is up to the other person if the plans happen. The,metaphor reveals that it is somebody else’s turn to make a move, after you have done your part in the situation.
Ka Lye Chan
“I spent the day running errands.”
This metaphor may not be prevalent at first, but after reading the article by Lakoff and Johnson, the metaphor can be seen in two places. It paints a picture in a person’s mind about how the other person’s day went, and it portrays a sense of nothing important being done. It also shows that the person did not have great joy in doing miniscule things. The saying can be heard in everyday conversation when person A asks, “How did your day go?” (which is also a metaphor) and person B, if nothing much occurred in their day, would reply with some variations of the metaphor at hand. The word “spent”, as made clear in Lakoff and Johnson’s article, shows that time is a commodity that is as valuable to us as money, so when you spend the day doing errands, you don’t feel like you’ve accomplished anything that is equal to your loss of time. The word “running” indicates that the task(s) were laborious and something that they did not want to necessarily do but had to. This association of running being an exercise that is healthy for a person despite the amount of effort it takes for a person to do so, conveys through the metaphor. There is also this affiliation between “go” and “running”, where they both make sense when put together and in response to each other as a way of talking about someone’s day. This can be because we visualize our day moving from one point to another, so we use words that relate to movement in order to show how our day was.
“I’m dead serious.”
This metaphor exaggerates the point that someone is very serious about something or that someone is telling something that is true. If person A questions the validity of information, or most likely, gossip they’ve heard, then person B is likely to respond with this metaphor to show that what they say is true. It can be used in any genre or kind of conversation. For example, if a child is being scolded by their parent(s), they can use this metaphor in order to convey that the matter at hand is severe. The word “dead” has a very grave implication in which the person is being totally honest so they use this metaphor to get their message across. A lot of metaphors can be found on the subject of death which can be due to the fact that death is not a joke to almost everyone, and it is also a touchy subject that no one really wants to think or talk about. In lacing this subject to our everyday language as a metaphor, we may be able to make it easier for ourselves to talk about death and even make fun with it by saying, “I’m dead” in response to something hilarious. Though it can be made fun of, it still holds the value of being grave because something was so extremely funny, that you “died” of laughter. This exposes our innate fear of death and exploits the word in putting it into our everyday vocabulary so that it may become less frightening over time.
Christian Boyle
“Beat around the bush”
This metaphor basically means to avoid speaking directly about something that is uncomfortable to talk about. Beating around the bush instead of just beating the bush is like talking about a topic without directly referencing it. This is used in many contexts where the subject matter is sensitive and difficult to talk about. When someone is beating around a bush, it is likely that they are afraid of what may lie in that bush, but in the end, beating around the bush will not help anyone because the problem of what is inside the bush is not being dealt with.
“A blessing in disguise”
This metaphor is used to refer to things that are good but originally present themselves as being bad things. It is usually used after discovering the good part of a seemingly bad thing and is generally a good thing. This metaphor supports the idea that some bad things have upsides, even sometimes having upsides that outweigh the downsides, becoming a blessing. It also supports the idea that it is not always initially obvious what is a good thing or a bad thing and that upon closer inspection you can see through the disguise that is the seemingly bad part of something and see it as something positive for yourself.
“The early bird gets the worm”
This metaphorical phrase describes someone who immediately goes to do something that he wishes to accomplish. This phrase is used often when trying to explain to someone that they should do something immediately as soon as they possibly can, and their outcome will be better because of that. An example in my daily life where I follow this idea is when I arrive early for a class in order to insure a front row seat. “Early bird” is also used in many other contexts as well, such as the early bird special at a garage. If you bring your car to the garage early enough, the rate that you will be charged for that day is much lower than if you came to park the car in the garage later that day. This expression is used often and is even logical if meant literally. If a bird gets to the worm first, then the bird will catch the worm before anyone else can. If a person does something as soon as they can, they will accomplish what their goal is quicker and more efficiently.
“Hold your horses”
This expression is used in a metaphorical way, which in my opinion is pretty clear considering the average American does not walk around with horses or travel by horse. The phrase is used when trying to tell someone to slow down or be patient. I would assume that this phrase was derived during the time where a common form of transportation was by horse. Nowadays it is just used in a way to tell someone to hold on and be calm.
Jacob Kapustin
“The ball is in your court”
This metaphor is used incredibly often both in films and in real life. It is used to portray that it’s ones’ turn to either react to something, take responsibility, or just to do some sort of action. When thinking about the origins of this metaphor, one can’t help but to think of tennis. In tennis, when the ball is in your court it’s your turn to volley it in whichever direction you choose. This metaphor is fairly powerful, and is used often to provoke an act from an individual either in a positive or a negative sense. The comparison between a sport and a real life situation, adds a sense of competition to whatever the given scenario is.
“Time is Money”
Time is money, especially as a New Yorker, this is a metaphor that we all have used or heard at one point. It’s meaning is very simple, and it has shaped time as a financial commodity throughout the world. The metaphor is often used in film, music, and simply in everyday life. Now when you interpret the metaphor it may seem simple, but when you go deeper into it, it becomes more complex. The metaphor makes one imagine why time is so precious, that it is compared to currency. It makes one realize how limited/valuable time is, and that wasted time is similar to losing money.
I’m dead tired.
The phrase is representing a common feeling of weariness and comparing its affect of you to death. Usually people don’t want to be referred to or be in any state relating to stagnation or lack of ability to move. When someone is “dead tired” it means they are seriously tired and unable to continue any normal activities thus its as if they were dead. Usually this phrase is heard after any kind of exhausting activity and within earshot of another. After a good workout or an extensive day at work that leads them to a critical point of exhaustion they might use the phrase. Any physical or mental activity that is draining can produce the effect. Now as an interpretation I’d like it think of dead and tired of two sides of the same coin. When someone is tired, they are lacking the energy and exuberance to continue living normally. The state could be temporary but comes back further down the line in old age when one is tired of life and cannot function normally thus approaching and easing into death. Imagine being pushed too far mentally, would you not be then forced into insanity. Or pushed physically would you no longer be able to move the way you once had; the you of the past is no more. In addition, one can be tired of objects, ideas and people. If your tired of any one of these three they can be discarded or forgotten thus being killed, at least figuratively. The metaphor reveals the harsh truth of being tired and its relation to death.
A heart of stone
To have a heart of stone usually means a person is less reactive to other events surrounding them. A heart is a beating organ which constantly has to adjust based on activity in the body to determine how much blood has to be pumped into the bloodstream. This phrase is usually a description of another after notice of their lack of emotion. At a funeral someone may notice the odd ones who shed no tears even while being so close to the fallen; often they cannot be phased and their emotions are generally controlled. Often associated cold people who make life changing descisions without batting an eye, also derived as stone cold. Medusa was said to turn men to stone when they looked her in the eye; the hearts which figuratively were lured in by her initial beauty now that they are stone can no longer react. A heart is usually reactive whilst stone is not. This inverse relationship shows that the person in question is usually lacking a natural human function, the ability to react.
Michael Fajardo-Criollo
“He/she/they broke my heart”
Referring to when someone hurts someone emotionally with lack of love. During breakups if one person emotionally hurts the other, the one who was hurt might run up to a friend and tell them that they broker his or her heart. Love since many decades many has been associated with the heart, a human organ. It has been tied because love is something that some people feel it in their hearts and even without it feel empty there so this feeling is what ties it to the heart. This metaphor shows that love is very powerful and if taken away can leave strong damage on a person emotionally to the point where it is felt physically.
“Words cut deeper than a knife”
A person can both damaged both physically and emotionally and while physical damage can last long, some words stick with a person forever. After hearing terrible news or being attacked verbally by someone, words cut hurt more than a knife. Such as hearing that your spouse doesn’t love you anymore. A knife cut can leave a an injury that is painful, but is only temporary. Some words however can leave emotional scars with someone and that scar is a reminder, always, that those words reside with you. This metaphor shows that society hurts on the inside as much or ever more than the outside.
time is money
This is a phrase that you here many times throughout your life, especially now that we are in college. All the public schools that we attended before this were all free, so it really didn’t matter too much. Now that we are in college everything we do revolves around money. If we fail the class we have to pay again for the same class that is required to attend. In. this case time is literally money. Even outside of college when you go to get a job there is an amount you get paid per hour. So the later you come in the less money you get. Even in this case time is literally money.
piece of cake
This is a phrase means when something is really simple and requires no actual strength, physical or mental. Cake is a food that most people eat. It is so simple and easy to eat, It requires no energy to do at all . In some movies and TV shows many of the villains beat the super hero for the first time very badly then say piece of cake, which means they beat the super hero with relative ease. This metaphor basically means whatever the task was it was extremely easy. Some people also refer to this as easy as pie.