mixed metaphor

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noun

the use in the same expression of two or more metaphors that are incongruous or illogical when combined, as in “The president will put the ship of state on its feet.”

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.

Question 1 of 8

Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?

The Sunflower State

The Evergreen State

The Magnolia State

The Mockingbird State

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Origin of mixed metaphor

First recorded in 1790–1800

Words nearby mixed metaphor

mixed language, mixed layer, mixed lymphocyte culture test, mixed marriage, mixed media, mixed metaphor, mixed nerve, mixed number, mixed paralysis, mixed-race, mixed reality

Example sentences from the Web for mixed metaphor

Myerson herself appears to have bought into that stigma, offering mixed to negative views on the Miss America pageant.
Why Was Bess Myerson the First and Last Jewish Miss America?|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Residents of the neighborhoods where cops are needed the most are mixed on the impact of the apparent slowdown.
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Warm milk mixed with a spoonful of fireplace ashes seemed to also be popular among 19th century England.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Furthermore, mixed race children are the fastest growing population in the country.
Obama Is Right on Race. The Media Is Wrong.|Keli Goff|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Once again he accused the West of being unfair to Russia, bringing back his favorite metaphor, the Russian bear.
After His Disastrous Annual Press Conference, Putin Needs A Hug|Anna Nemtsova|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Broken crocks should be strewn upon the tray, and on to this is heaped peaty soil mixed with sand.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
"I'm not proud," replied Davy, provoked at being mixed up with Gobobbles in this way.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
One of the lower and mixed forms of artistic activity, in the case of the child and of the race alike, is personal adornment.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Yet the feeling is in most children weak and vacillating, and is wont to be mixed with other and less noble ones.
Children's Ways|James Sully
A mixed type of the present day Negro, she was slightly tall, and somewhat slender, with a figure straight and graceful.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux

British Dictionary definitions for mixed metaphor

mixed metaphor

noun

a combination of incongruous metaphors, as when the Nazi jackboots sing their swan song

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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mixed metaphor

noun

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Origin of mixed metaphor

Words nearby mixed metaphor

Example sentences from the Web for mixed metaphor

British Dictionary definitions for mixed metaphor

noun