Eight Types Of Metaphors - A Great Post

by Richard Nordquist   Richard Nordquist is a freelance writer and former professor of English and Rhetoric who wrote college-level Grammar and Composition textbooks. Updated January 29, 2018 Metaphors aren't merely the candy sprinkles on the doughnut of language, not just embellishments to the music of poetry and prose. Metaphors are ways of thinking—and also ways of shaping the thoughts of others. All of us, every day, speak and write and think in metaphors. In fact, it's hard to imagine how we'd get by without them. And because figurative comparisons lie at the heart of language and thought, they have been pinned down and picked apart by scholars in a wide variety of disciplines. Of course, everyone knows what happens when gangs of professors set about to study a subject intensely. They analyze, classify, describe, explain, evaluate, and inevitably rename whatever it is they have been looking at. And so it has been with metaphors. There are countless ways of looking at them, thinking about them, and using them. But in deference to the metaphorical blackbirds of Wallace Stevens ("The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds./It was a small part of the pantomime"), here are a few of them. For examples of each type of metaphor, follow the links. Types of Metaphors Absolute Metaphor A metaphor in which one of the terms (the tenor) can't be readily distinguished from the other (the vehicle). Complex Metaphor A metaphor in which the literal meaning is expressed through more than one figurative term (a combination of primary metaphors). Conceptual Metaphor A metaphor in which one idea (or conceptual domain) is understood in terms of another. Conventional Metaphor A familiar comparison that doesn't call attention to itself as a figure of speech. Creative Metaphor An original comparison that does call attention to itself as a figure of speech. Dead Metaphor A figure of speech that has lost its force and imaginative effectiveness through frequent use. Extended Metaphor A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem. Mixed Metaphor A succession of incongruous or ludicrous comparisons.

The following events, industries, causes and emotions (yes, emotions) are observed all month long in April unless otherwise indicated. Even cannabis (fast becoming legalized), Florida tomatoes, celery, and soft pretzels are honored, beginning April 1 through April 30—every year. 

• African-American Women's Fitness Month
• Alcohol Awareness Month
• Amateur Radio Month
• American Cancer Society Month
• Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
• Black Women's History Month 
• Bowel Cancer Awareness Month 
• Celebrate Diversity Month
• Community Service Month
• Confederate History Month 
• Distracted Driving Awareness Month 
• Financial Literacy Month 
• Fresh Florida Tomato Month
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month 
• Jewish-American Heritage Month
• Keep America Beautiful Month 
• Lawn and Garden Month 
• Mathematics Awareness Month 

• Month of the Military Child 
• National Autism Awareness Month
• National Better Hearing and Speech Month
• National Canine Fitness Month
• National Cannabis Awareness Month 
• National Car Care Awareness Month 
• National Child Abuse Awareness Month 
• National Couple Appreciation Month 
• National Deaf History Month (March 13 to April 15) 
• National Decorating Month 
• National Donate Life Awareness Month 
• National Fair Housing Month 
• National Food Month
• National Fresh Celery Month 
• National Garden Month
• National Humor Month 
• National Internship Awareness Month 

• National Inventor's Month 
• National Jazz Appreciation Month 

• National Landscape Architecture Month 
• National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (last full week in April) 
• National Mental Health Month
• National Month of Hope
• National Multiple Birth Awareness Month
• National Occupational Therapy Month
• National Older Americans Month
• National Parkinson's Awareness Month
• National Pecan Month
• National Poetry Month 
• National Safe Digging Month 
• National Siblings Day (April 10) 
• National Soft Pretzel Month
• National Soy Foods Month

• National STDs Education and Awareness Month
• National Straw Hat Month 
• National Volunteer Month 
• National Welding Month 
• Occupational Therapy Month 
• Pets are Wonderful Month
  
• Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month
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• Records and Information Management Month 
• Scottish-American Heritage Month
• Sexual Assault Awareness Month 
• Stress Awareness Month
• Thai Heritage Month
• Women's Health Care Month

International and One-Day Observances

Because you may be in the business of working with internationals, we can not forget the participation of other countries. Here are a few international honorees, as well as some causes that are observed globally: 

• April is International Guitar Month, recognized in several countries.
• Ontario, Canada recognizes April as Sikh Heritage Month. 
• April is National Pet Month in the United Kingdom, although the U.S. waits until May to honor Postsits non-human family members. 
• International Pillow Fight Day is observed on April 6 in 2019. 
• World Autism Awareness Day also falls on April 2 in 2019. 
• World Health Day is April 7, in 2019.