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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Introduction
Cartoon Illustrated Books
Acknowledgments
About Kaiman Lee, Ph.D.
List of Metaphors
Achilles' Heel
Add Insult to Injury
Afraid of One's Own Shadow
All Ears
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
Alpha and Omega
Armed to the Teeth
Asleep at the Switch
At Loggerheads
Ax to Grind
Bait and Switch
Bark Up the Wrong Tree
Basket Case
Batten Down the Hatches
Be All and End All
Beat a Dead Horse
Behind the Eight Ball
Below the Belt
Big Fish in a Small Pond
Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Bite the Hand that Feeds You
Bone to Pick
Born With a Silver Spoon
Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed
Bring to a Head
Bull in a China Shop
Burn the Midnight Oil
Bury the Hatchet
By Hook or by Crook
Can't See Beyond One's Nose
Can't See the Forest for the Trees
Chicken Without its Head
Chickens Come Home to Roost
Chip Off the Old Block
Come Hell or High Water
Come Out of One's Shell
Cook Someone's Goose
Cool as a Cucumber
Cross the Rubicon
Cut the Mustard
Dead as a Doornail
Dead Duck
Dog Eat Dog
Don't Change Horses in Midstream
Don't Hold Your Breath
Don't Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
Duck Soup
Ducks in a Row
Ear to the Ground
Early Bird Catches the Worm
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining
Face the Music
Feather in One's Cap
Final Nail in the Coffin
Finger in Every Pie
Fire on All Cylinders
Fish in Troubled Waters
Fish or Cut Bait
Fish Out of Water
Flash in the Pan
Forgive and Forget
Get in on the Ground Floor
Get One's Foot in the Door
Hand Over Fist
Hook, Line and Sinker
Jump the Gun
Knee Jerk Reaction
Let the Cat Out of the Bag
Live and Let Live
Lock, Stock and Barrel
Make No Bones About It
Memory Like an Elephant
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Mountains Out of Molehills
No Holds Barred
Nose to the Grindstone
Off the Top of One's Head
On an Even Keel
One Rotten Apple Spoils the Barrel
Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire
Pandora's Box
Pay the Piper
Put One's Best Foot Forward
Rain Cats and Dogs
Rank and File
Rest on One's Laurels
Safety in Numbers
Stool Pigeon
Straw That Broke the Camel's Back
Talk Turkey
Tempest in a Teapot
Throw In the Towel
Time Flies
Two's Company, Three's a Crowd
Under the Weather
Up to Snuff
Wait for the Other Shoe to Drop
Wash One's Dirty Linen in Public
White Elephant
You Can't Take It With You |
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Introduction
The following are general definitions of the words used in the title of this
book:
"Metaphor" is a figurative language or a figure of speech in which a
phrase is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between
them. For instance, "armed to the teeth" is used in place of "fully armed," or
"completely equipped."
"Idiom" is a language, or a way of speaking peculiar to a people,
district, community, or class. An idiom can also be defined as an expression
the meaning of which is not predictable from the usual meanings of its
constituent elements. Idioms can include proverbs, cliches and slang.
"Proverb" is a short, familiar statement of commonly accepted truth or
judgment. For instance, "don't change horses in mid-stream" means not to change
leaders or methods in the middle of a crisis.
"Cliche" conveys attitudes and insights that have the ring of
time-honored truth. Cliches are catchy because of their images as well as their
alliteration. They are generally defined as a trite phrase or expression; a
hackneyed theme or situation; something that has become overly familiar or
commonplace. For instance, "behind the eight-ball" means being in trouble or in
a bad situation.
"Slang" is an informal and non-standard vocabulary or language peculiar
to a particular group, composed typically of changed words, and extravagant or
forced figures of speech. For instance, "stool pigeon" refers to a traitor or
police informer.
This book is intended to help people who want to "spice up" the way they talk.
It can be especially effective for people whose native language is not English.
Verbal metaphors used in appropriate contexts can serve business, social,
psychological and cultural purposes.
The book is unique in three ways:
1. Every metaphor is illustrated with a cartoon that, in combination with text,
will make understanding, remembering, recalling and applying easy.
2. Each metaphor occupies one page that stands on its own to make learning easy.
3. There are only one hundred metaphors presented in this book, making the
learning of all of them an easily achievable goal. They have been selected out
of thousands because the author believes they are practical and useful.
The text portion consists of four categories of information:
1. Meaning: Different as well as similar meanings of the metaphor are
included to make it easy for the reader to understand.
2. Alternative: Variations of the metaphor, e.g., a shorter version, are
included. Metaphors with similar meanings that could serve as a substitute are
suggested. Some metaphors may not have alternatives cited.
3. Origin: How the metaphor came about is included in a simplistic
manner. It is not meant to be exhaustive or scholarly. It is intended to aid
comprehension and recall.
4. Usage: Two examples of how the metaphor can be used are given. In
consideration of the diversity of readers' backgrounds, one example is in the
technology or management context and the other is in a social or less formal
context.
The following references have been used by the author:
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
----- Christine Ammer
The Cassell Dictionary of English Idioms
----- Rosalind Fergusson
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs
----- John Simpson
Dictionary of American Slang
----- Robert L. Chapman and Barbara Ann Kipfer
A Dictionary of Cliches
----- Eric Partridge
The Dictionary of Cliches
----- James Rogers
The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins
----- Robert Hendrickson
Have a Nice Day -- No Problem! A Dictionary of Cliches
----- Christine Ammer
Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins
----- William and Mary Morris
Readers participation in future work:
You are encouraged to offer suggestions for improvements. The author will
consider your input for his upcoming sequel to this book, which may be called "One-a-Day Insights: 365 Metaphors, Proverbs, Cliches, Slang,
Similes, Hyperboles, Idioms, and Words".
Please send your comments to kaiman_lee@yahoo.com.
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Copyright 2004 Environmental Design & Research Center. All rights reserved.
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