A bridge too far: Was Sarah Palin’s crosshairs metaphor a political death threat?

2008 was an 11. After overdue consideration and numerous recounts, The Metaphor Observatory has reached a reluctant concensus among staff. The 2008 Top Ten Metaphors list was particularly difficult due to the enormous diversity of metaphors used to describe the candidates of the American election and the causes of the financial crisis. While the crisis [...]

In a pig’s eye… Barack bent more than a few ears with his recent use of the plat-popular proverb “You can put lipstick on a pig [not that there's anything wrong with that....], but it’s still a pig”. The wiry newsflashes were arsonistically kindled into printhouse fires, and the chatterbox became an analytical tinderbox. Though [...]