Meaning & use
mixing metaphors
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
The mistake of combining two or more different metaphors in a way that sounds silly or confusing.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; often after 'be' or 'avoid'. The verb form is 'mix metaphors'.
Patterns
- be mixing metaphors
- avoid mixing metaphors
- mix metaphors
The speech was criticized for mixing metaphors: it described the economy as both a ship and a garden.
If you say 'he's a loose cannon with a heart of gold', you might be mixing metaphors.
Good writers try to avoid mixing metaphors in the same paragraph.
Common combinations
- accuse someone of mixing metaphors
- The editor accused the author of mixing metaphors in the opening line.
- a case of mixing metaphors
- The poem is a case of mixing metaphors that somehow works.
- without mixing metaphors
- Try to write clearly without mixing metaphors.
- risk mixing metaphors
- If you use too many images, you risk mixing metaphors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mixed metaphor
- A mixed metaphor is the result (a single instance), while mixing metaphors is the act of doing it.
Word family
- metaphor noun
- A way of describing something by calling it something else.
- metaphorical adjective
- Using metaphor; not literal.
Commonly confused: mixing metaphors or mixed metaphor?
mixing metaphors vs mixed metaphor
A mixed metaphor is the specific phrase that results from the mistake; mixing metaphors is the action of making that mistake.
Practice
Which sentence correctly uses 'mixing metaphors'?
Choose one answer.
Option 1 is correct because it describes combining two different metaphorical images (a machine and steam) in one statement. Option 2 confuses 'mix' with literal mixing of paint. Option 3 uses 'mix' to mean socializing. Option 4 uses 'mix' for combining ingredients.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mixing metaphors”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.