Lists of Metaphors

Here are some lists of metaphors in several categories. They are not developed or explained here. It is just a list you can look over for ideas.

Business Metaphors

Business is war.
Business is a game.
Customers are targets.
Customers are bosses.
A business owner is a servant of the customer.
A business owner is a slave to the market.

Love Metaphors

Love is a magnetic force.
Love is a way of seeing.
Love is a recognition of self in another.
Love is a virus.
Romance is the theater of love.

Human Metaphors

We are visitors from an unknown home.
Man is a walking computer.
We are vehicles that carry passengers from here to there.
Man is a tool used by ideas.
We are gods with amnesia.
We are the seeds that will grow into something great.
We are characters in a story.
Dust in the wind.

Metaphors for Fear

Fear is a voice that we listen to.
Fear is a beast that we feed with our attention.
Fear is the idea that we are our bodies.
Fear is the illusion that what is important can be hurt.
Fear is an imagined future pain felt now.

Employment

A job is slavery.
A job is a muddy path to green meadows.
An employee is a businessman selling labor.
Employment is a school for future business people.
A job is a temporary bill-paying tool.

Democracy

Democracy is a chaotic family trying to make decisions.
Democracy is the rule of the mob.
Voting is a way by which slaves choose their masters.
A vote is an individual preference whispered in a hurricane.
Democracy is the business of selling votes for promises.

Metaphors for Ideas

Ideas are parasites which cannot live without their host: the brain.
Ideas are creatures which borrow our minds and bodies to live.
Ideas are the souls of gods living in the minds of humans.
Ideas are the play-acting imaginings of reality.
Ideas are two-dimensional photos of three-dimensional realities.

Metaphors for the Human Body

The body is a temple.
The body is a vehicle for the soul.
The body is a prison for our criminal nature.
The body is a machine.
Human bodies are pieces of meat with computer programs attached.
The body is a tool used for the purposes set by the mind.

Other lists of metaphors can be found on the following pages:

Examples Of Metaphors

Money Metaphors

Metaphor List - The Less Common Metaphors