Tag archives: metaphor

The fiscal cliff

On Wednesday morning, after months of focusing on the electoral horserace, Americans awoke to find themselves in a perilous position; we had been sleeping at the edge of the fiscal cliff. But how did we get here? The metaphor of a fiscal cliff – meaning an anticipated event which will have dire economic consequences unless an [...]

Posted on: November 9 2012 | Posted by: | Comments: 2 | Categories: Dictionaries and lexicography | Tags: , , ,

Six obsolete endearments for old-fashioned romantics

Some terms of affection, like darling, have endured in the English language from the outset, while others have come and gone in less than a century. The language of love thrives on metaphor, but precisely what connotes affection has changed over time. Some endearments employed by love poets in centuries past, like sparling (a type [...]

Posted on: February 14 2012 | Posted by: | Comments: 10 | Categories: English in use | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,