Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Permissible Mixed Metaphors

Definition: 

Permissible mixed metaphors are mixed metaphors that do not conflict with each other because they

  • serve the same purpose, and
  • exhibit a correlation with each other.
Examples: 

(English)

The sentences below illustrate the mixture of the argument-as-journey and argument-as-container metaphors. The purpose in the employment of both metaphors is to treat what can variously be called the amount of content in or degree of progress of the argument, both of which are correlated:

  • At this point our argument doesn’t have much content.
  • In what we've done so far, we have provided the core of our argument.
  • If we keep going the way we're going, we’ll fit all the facts in.
Source: