Which expressions that have rock function?

Question

Hello,I find that so many English words / expressions are in the status of a rock and situated in the position of a rock.(2 Samuel 22:3) The God of my rock; in him will I trust. (in him: shows that He is situated in the rock support us) (John 20:31) ...and that believing ye might have life through his name. (his name under our feet)When B is based on A / depends on A, we can say A is the rock to support B.for which day / for how long / prior to or for before / A that used to do B / the way to follow in order to reach a place ;through A / by means of A / using A or with A------A is the rock;A in favor of / A in support of / A in agreement with / A in defence of----A is the rock;The price vary all the way from $5 to $50. ------the rock is all the way from $5 to $50.The country depends heavily on its tourist trade. ----the rock is its tourist tradethe verb of experience / receive / suffer / support ....all of those act as the action of the rock (not the transitive verb)A votes for you / A for you-----A is the rockI trust A / have confidence in A / believe in A / put my trust in A / an agreement made on a basis of mutual trust /A is very dependable to let me trust him----A is the rocka dependable source of income-----a source of income acts the rock to support someone's life / can be situated in a rock of my lifeAsk you for your suggestions.Thank you for your help.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Hi bepleased;

I am glad that you have discovered the metaphor.. The metaphor can be an effective literary device, but must be used with care.

Rock has often been used in literature as a reference to stability, strength, and protection. A good example is in those two verses where David compares *** to many different physical things:

(2 Samuel 22:2-3) ((David said:) The Lord is my rock, and my fortress,...he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower,...

Rock is often used to refer to *** in hymns and psalms
Psalm 95:1) O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Rock of ages (A popular hymn by Augustus Toplady)

Matthew 16:18 ... thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church

Besides rock, the Bible is replete with metaphors; Jesus is a lamb, His body is bread, his blood is wine.

There are also many similes in the Bible. Similes are similar to metaphors in that it compares two dissimilar things for imagery .

2 Samuel 23:3
And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.

Metaphors and similes give poetic richness and vibrancy to text, but they can be taken too far and used inappropriately.
Also, beware that some idioms using the same word will give a different image:

His marriage is on the rocks.
He found himself between a rock and a hard place.
Their moral was at rock bottom.
Bob has rocks in his head.
Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read. ( Quote from Frank Zappa) Liz Taylor's most impressive rock was from her husband Michael Todd.

I think the examples in your post have extended the concept of rock as metaphor far beyond its possibilities, defeating the purpose of the device.

Bepleased · Answer

Dear Alphecca Stars:

Thank you for your treasure quotions which are my pearl in my book.

My work wonders the picture of the word to work as a rock in your mind.

We know speech is the picture of the mind.

As your saying,"His marriage is on the rocks."
The picture of the mind of speaker is that the rocks acts as a bear at the bottom of the sentence.
So, His marriage is supported by the rocks. Or the rocks supports his marriage.
So, the first level is his marriage; the second level is "is", the third level is "on the rocks".
Is not the picture is your real mind?
That picture is even with "What is on your mind?"
So, the verb to be must in no way mean "exists"!

AlpheccaStars · Answer

bepleasedAs your saying,"His marriage is on the rocks."The picture of the mind of speaker is that the rocks acts as a bear at the bottom of the sentence.So, His marriage is supported by the rocks.

Now there is your conundrum
If someone tells me "his marriage is on the rocks," I know that his marriage is failing, and he may soon be divorced.

The metaphor is not: "*** is my rock."

The metaphor here: a ship that has hit some rocks and is sinking.

Bepleased · Answer

Hi,
Yes, it is my conundrum.

The "on" used to show "support" and "towards".

1. I wonder whether the image of "B by means of A" and "A is used to do B" in your mind are like a rock to support B in the bottom.

Thank you for your help.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

bepleasedThe "on" used to show "support" and "towards".

Not always.

The report on the military situation in Mali was flawed.
In this sentence, on means concerning / about.

He worked hard on his essay.
In this sentence, on makes the relationship between the verb (work) and the object (essay).

Here are some other uses of on:
They went on a long journey.
They spent most of their time on chopping wood for fire.

Many of the most frequently used prepositions in English do not have fixed definitions - they serve to make some relationship between its (noun) object and the rest of the sentence.

It is a conundrum. You cannot change it, so you just have to accept that and learn the different patterns.

Bepleased · Answer

Hi,

How about this my sincere query:
1. I wonder whether the image of "B by means of A" and "A is used to do B" in your mind are like a rock to support B in the bottom.

Thank you for your help.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Please give examples. eg. the phrase B by means of A:
Chopping carrots by means of a cleaver.
Travel to China by means of a boat.
Winning liberty by means of an armed uprising.
Catching fish by means of a net.
Climbing onto a roof by means of a ladder.
Achieving good health by means of yoga and meditation.

I do not visualize these as having a rock or support. .

Bepleased · Answer

Hi,

I like to try to help you visualize them.
Wait a minute.
[visualize]---to form a picture of aomeone or something in the mind;
I am confused with the same of "in the mind" in the definition of "confuse"
[confuse]-----to cause to be mixed up "in the mind"
Could you give an explanation to it?

Here, "by means of A" shows "depending on A / A is used to your action " , "you" as a book which is on the table.
So the table must be a rock in philosophy or meaning and picture of the speech mind.

A is used to you, here, the "to" must be used to show according to you, the "you" as the king of A.
English is also an alternative hieroglyphics, the speech in the picture of the mind comes before oral lines.
Its every line is in accordance with its picture of the mind of the speaker.
No the picture of the mind of the speaker, no oral lines.
But once you become a habit, you will get rid of as useless.
My work is to get it back, because the most easy way to grasp each other's words is the picture of the mind or the prototype of your daily language.
So only we put the clothing that disguises thought off can we find the intrinsic logic of language.

To come back to the picture of the mind or the prototype of the daily language is too hard to catch for native speaker.

Bepleased · Answer

feed + on / with (using) A
A is a rock function.

A is used to one's feeding oneself.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

bepleasedI am confused with the same of "in the mind" in the definition of "confuse"[confuse]-----to cause to be mixed up "in the mind"Could you give an explanation to it?

The lady is confused because she does not know which way to go.

Which way?

The drivers are confused because they don't know whether they should stop or go.

RED? GREEN? YELLOW?

Which expressions that have rock function?

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