Dead Metaphor - Examples

Examples

There are many examples of dead metaphors in the English language. A brief list of examples is given below.

  • flowerbed
  • head teacher
  • forerunner
  • to run for office
  • to lose face
  • to lend a hand
  • to broadcast
  • pilot -- originally meant the rudder of a boat.
  • flair -- originally meant a sweet smell.
  • a computer mouse
  • (tele)phone is ringing (original telephones had bells)
  • fishing for compliments
  • seeds of doubt
  • catch her name
  • world wide web
  • tulip -- originally meant the eastern headdress, the turban.
  • turn-on
  • flared jeans
  • he ploughed through the traffic lights
  • foothills or the foot of a mountain
  • brow of the hill
  • branches of government
  • windfall gain
  • fly
  • kidney beans
  • "nightfall" - originally from the growing shade under an object which occurs when the object is dropped or falling
  • The Body of an essay- originally connected to human anatomy
  • infinitesimal calculus

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