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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Would this count as a metaphor?

I've heard boxing commentators sau

They are throwing bombs.

Does this qualify as metaphor? Bombs being punches of course.
  

Top answer

When speaker meaning differs from word meaning you have a metaphor. You yourself have recognized that "bombs" doesn't mean "punches", and yet the speaker meant "punches" when he said "bombs". It seems to me that you have a perfect example where the speaker's meaning is different from the word meaning.

— CalifJim

  • When speaker meaning differs from word meaning you have a metaphor.
  • You yourself have recognized that "bombs" doesn't mean "punches", and yet the speaker meant "punches" when he said "bombs".
  • It seems to me that you have a perfect example where the speaker's meaning is different from the word meaning.
  • So it is a metaphor.
  • CJ
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4 Answers
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When speaker meaning differs from word meaning you have a metaphor.

You yourself have recognized that "bombs" doesn't mean "punches", and yet the speaker meant "punches" when he said "bombs". It seems to me that you have a perfect example where the speaker's meaning is different from the word meaning. So it is a metaphor.

CJ
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These commentators were talking metaphorically.
But one can also say that they were talking figuratively, right?

-Kate
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AnonymousThese commentators were talking metaphorically.
But one can also say that they were talking figuratively, right?

-Kate

Yes. A metaphor is one of the many different figures of speech so, like the others, it is part of figurative language.

CJ
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