Metaphors We Live By

book George Lakoff, Mark Johnson (1980)

George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s foundational text on conceptual metaphor theory. Catalogs ~60-70 conceptual metaphors organized into structural, orientational, and ontological types, arguing that everyday language is systematically structured by metaphorical mappings.

Entries (65)

• Action Is Motion — metaphor
• Activities Are Containers — metaphor
• An Instrument Is a Companion — metaphor
• Argument Is a Building — metaphor
• Argument Is a Journey — metaphor
• Change Is Motion — metaphor
• Change Of State Is Change Of Direction — metaphor
• Coherent Is Aligned — metaphor
• Communication Is Sending — metaphor
• Comparing And Seeking Is Shopping — metaphor
• Conscious Is Up; Unconscious Is Down — metaphor
• Difficulties Are Impediments to Motion — metaphor
• Emotional Stability Is Balance — metaphor
• Emotions Are Entities Within A Person — metaphor
• Existence Is A Location — metaphor
• Finished Is Up — metaphor
• Foreseeable Future Events Are Up (and Ahead) — metaphor
• Good Is Up; Bad Is Down — metaphor
• Happy Is Up; Sad Is Down — metaphor
• Having Control Is Up; Being Subject To Control Is Down — metaphor
• Health Is Up; Sickness Is Down — metaphor
• Ideas Are Commodities — metaphor
• Ideas Are Cutting Instruments — metaphor
• Ideas Are Fashions — metaphor
• Ideas Are Light-Sources — metaphor
• Ideas Are Money — metaphor
• Ideas Are Objects — metaphor
• Ideas Are People — metaphor
• Ideas Are Plants — metaphor
• Ideas Are Products — metaphor
• Ideas Are Resources — metaphor
• Inflation Is an Entity — metaphor
• Labor Is a Resource — metaphor
• Life Is a Container — metaphor
• Life Is a Gambling Game — metaphor
• Life Is a Journey — metaphor
• Long-Term Purposeful Change Is a Journey — metaphor
• Love Is a Collaborative Work of Art — metaphor
• Love Is a Patient — metaphor
• Love Is a Physical Force — metaphor
• Love Is a Unity — metaphor
• Love Is Madness — metaphor
• Love Is War — metaphor
• More Is Up; Less Is Down — metaphor
• Obligations Are Forces — metaphor
• People Are Machines — metaphor
• Problems Are Puzzles — metaphor
• Properties Are Possessions — metaphor
• Psychological Forces Are Physical Forces — metaphor
• Purposes Are Destinations — metaphor
• Rational Is Up; Emotional Is Down — metaphor
• Seeing Is Touching — metaphor
• Significant Is Big — metaphor
• States Are Locations — metaphor
• Status Is Up; Lack Of Status Is Down — metaphor
• The Conduit Metaphor — metaphor
• The Mind Is A Brittle Object — metaphor
• The Mind Is A Machine — metaphor
• The Visual Field Is A Bounded Region — metaphor
• The Visual Field Is A Container — metaphor
• Time Is a Limited Resource — metaphor
• Time Is a Moving Object — metaphor
• Time Is Stationary and We Move Through It — metaphor
• Unknown Is Up; Known Is Down — metaphor
• Virtue Is Up; Depravity Is Down — metaphor