metaphor – Page 2 – God Didn't Say That

On Idioms and Metaphors

In More than Cool Reason, George Lakoff writes: Metaphors are so commonplace we often fail to notice them. Take the way we ordinarily talk about death. The euphemism “He passed away” is not an arbitrary one. When someone dies, we don’t say “He drank a glass of milk” or “He had an idea” or “He…
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JoelMHoffman October 26, 2009 5

Translation Challenge: Psalm 17:8

The text of Psalm 17:8 brilliantly combines two Hebrew expressions, pairing both their meaning and their underlying semantic basis: shomreini k’ishun bat-ayin//b’tzel k’nafecha tastireini, that is, “guard-me like-a-dark-spot of daughter-of-eye//in-the-shadow of your-wings hide-me.” The first expression is “keep me like the pupil of your eye,” almost universally rendered, “keep me like the apple of your…
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JoelMHoffman October 16, 2009 5

Sometimes Bible Translation is a Piece of Cake

Can I use “Bible translation is a piece of cake” to mean that Bible translation is sweet (like cake), but only part of a larger, complete object? English speakers know that the answer is “no.” The reason it doesn’t work is that “a piece of cake” is an idiom in English, and its meaning doesn’t…
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JoelMHoffman October 14, 2009 1

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives

Recent posts from my Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives:

Interest Rates Old and New: How High is Too High? A short history of ancient interest rates, in light of a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates proposed in the US Senate by Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley
In the AI of the Storm We should all embrace AI instead of fearing it. Here's why.
Happy Year of the Snake Why is there a year for such a despicable animal as the snake? There might be a very good reason...
The Surprising Connection Between Hanukkah and Christmas Hanukkah and Christmas, which happen to coincide this year, happen to have a surprising shared history. Here it is.
Positivity Is Poisoning the Holidays (but It Doesn't Have To) Here is an antidote the poisonous pressure to be happy, especially during the holidays.

Tag: metaphor

On Idioms and Metaphors

Translation Challenge: Psalm 17:8

Sometimes Bible Translation is a Piece of Cake

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives

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