Newsletter and Grammar Coach

Metaphors offer a means to color and enliven language. Metaphorical phrasing is the technique of using the characteristics of one word to describe another term. He was adrift in a sea of confusion. The meadow was blanketed in snow. Her wooden expression concealed her thoughts. Shimmering pearls filled the night sky. The seeds of an idea began to germinate. The wheels of justice turn slowly.

Confusion is not really a sea, of course, but bobbing aimlessly in ocean waves distant from any shore can be disorienting, which metaphorically describes mental confusion. Likewise, snow is not a blanket, nor is a thoughtful person made of wood. And pearls do not hover in the sky. However, the visual imagery of those tangible items helps to convey vivid descriptions. Metaphors can enhance written or spoken narrative.

But if overused, metaphors can become tiresome, and if misused they can seem evasive or disingenuous. Instead of appearing imaginative, a timeworn metaphor becomes the figurative gravy stain on a necktie, drawing unwanted attention and detracting from the intended impression that a speaker or writer had hoped to create. In workplaces as well as in casual conversation, people habitually infuse their speech with stale metaphors, unaware of the bad aftertaste they’re creating.

These days, many people who are conducting a thorough investigation are less likely to say they are scrutinizing or probing or investigating than they are to describe what they’re doing as a deep dive into the information. If they’re not diving, they may be reaching for the facial tissues as they begin peeling the onion, an allegorical reference that conjures images of teary-eyed but determined people clawing away layers. Meanwhile, in other culinary-inspired pursuits in the adjoining cubicle, co-workers may be contemplating how to trim the fat from the organization.

They’re far less likely to say they plan to reconsider their direction or revise their strategy than they are to pivot. Rather than postponing discussion with a promise to revisit a topic, expect them to say they’ll circle back later.

Perhaps after that delay, the participants will lean into the topic. That expression is intended to refer to devoting full attention and commitment to something — preferably without toppling over.

A “research briefing” on employee teamwork efficiency, published by the MIT Center for Information Systems Research, was resplendent in metaphorical references, in passages such as this: “Continuously delighting customers through rapid innovation while simultaneously improving operational efficiency doesn’t have to be a precarious balancing act. Ultimately, siloed management of these goals only serves to limit company performance. Instead, we found that true ambidexterity requires a focus on decision rights, guided by four reinforcing guardrails. Implementing these guardrails will simultaneously empower and align cross-functional teams with company-wide interests.”

The business realm borrowed the agricultural grain silo concept to metaphorically refer to groups of employees who work in isolation and whose functions are discrete, detached, disengaged, disconnected from others within an organization. The first reference to siloed teams of workers was whimsical and insightful. Now, years later, its freshness date has long since expired.

Apparently being responsive, amenable, resourceful, adaptable, multifaceted or versatile has become insufficient for management, which must be ambidextrous these days. “Ambidexterity” is properly defined as the ability to use right and left hands equally well — but not necessarily responsively or resourcefully.

The term guardrail has become the contemporary allegory for sets of rules, standards, parameters, guidelines and criteria. It brings to mind the bars used at bowling alleys to prevent novices from chucking their ball into the gutter or the adjoining alley. In that regard, it’s somewhat condescending.

The excessive use of metaphors suggests that people have low confidence in the attention span of others, requiring visual imagery to retain their attention.

Some people reassure others that a task is “right in their wheelhouse.” No, it probably isn’t. People have areas of expertise or specialization or proficiency. No one but a ship’s captain, however, has a wheelhouse.

People strain to give physical characteristics to abstract concepts. Business and industrial sectors and functions are now characterized as “spaces,” such as “the international marketing space,” the “leadership development space,” the “social media influencer space” and the “strategic planning space.” A space is a physical area, or a gap between words or objects — like teeth, for instance. Leadership development is a process, a goal — but it’s not a space.

Something that is shared is divided into parts. If you share a sandwich with your bestie, you slice it in half. But these days sharing information is in vogue, far more common than conveying or revealing or announcing or divulging details. The minutes of a county commission stated, “Commissioner Tewey shared that the Department of Public Works will be meeting with the Health Department” and “Mr. Chew shared that wet season testing ends April 21.” An article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper included a statement that "Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. shared that Danielle Ballard was a student of his, and she excelled in his class.” A news release declared “The Kroger Co. today shared that Murray's Cheese Cave Aged Cheese line received numerous accolades at the American Cheese Society annual conference.” The company might have shared some of the cheese, but it announced the news about it.

People may be asked to bring their ideas and goals into alignment. That sounds like a job for an automotive repair shop. It was so much simpler when people were encouraged to agree or concur or attain consensus.

Heck, a lot of people think that merely phoning or by other means contacting someone is insufficient. They feel compelled instead to reach out — a phrasal verb that hints at desperation. In practical terms, people reach out no farther than it takes to grip their smartphone or tap their computer keyboard.

Some people apparently imagine themselves surrounded by electronic instruments. A person in today’s office environment may feel compelled to express awareness of an idea or the need to take action by saying “that’s on my radar” — suggesting that it’s just an insignificant blip on a 360-degree sweep. Rather than asking colleagues if they have enough time to work on that, they may inquire instead about their available bandwidth — a term borrowed from the realm of electromagnetics referring to a range of audio or radio frequencies or to electronic data transmission capability. If the idea is a good one, it might move the needle — like inducing a reaction by cranking up the voltage to a pair of electrodes in Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory.

People previously explored topics from their perspective or viewpoint or vantage point. These days, however, they’re more likely to offer their observations as seen through their lens. A journal article explored evolutionary biology “through the lens of budding yeast comparative genomics.” The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research encouraged municipal planning officials to “review their codes through the lens of unit size and eliminate unnecessary impediments to small units.” We regard that use of “lens” as a flawed metaphor because optical lenses are contorted by design.

“Start your hair growth journey,” encourages a recurrent TV commercial. The marketing materials of a bank counsel customers that “budgeting and saving play a key role in your financial journey.” Nowadays just about any process has become a journey, even for people who remain seated in their recliner.

A television news meteorologist began his broadcast segment by saying, “We have a lot to unpack in the forecast. Starting with Thursday morning, you can expect some patchy fog….” He didn’t have a bunch of stuff in a suitcase, however. He was referring to the amount of information to be discussed. Unpacking once was a clever way of describing examination of every aspect of a situation, but by now its use has become tedious.

It’s time to send that and all these other hackneyed, tiresome metaphors packing.

University of Notre Dame alumna Britt Crennell, a lawyer, adjunct professor and mother with a teaching degree in early education, has published the second set in her ongoing Star Kids series of richly illustrated books to introduce American civics to elementary school children.

The new pair of books consists of StarKids in America: Pennsylvania, a 122-page story book, with an accompanying 66-page workbook for students and teachers. Crennell used EditPros’ BookPrep service to help her publish the new books as well as the inaugural volumes about Delaware. Artists Yuuki Matsuyama and Laura Catrinella illustrated the two new books.

Crennell initiated the series after becoming increasingly concerned about the decline in civics curricula in elementary schools. “It’s so important to teach our children their duties as citizens and how they can contribute to their community,” Crennell said. “I felt a need for a funny, educational book series that introduces basic civics, empowers children, encourages civic-mindedness, and instills in the young reader a sense of pride in county.”

The StarKids are four friends from diverse backgrounds who race against time to solve America’s greatest mystery: the stars have vanished from every American flag, and no one knows why. After discovering a magic flag, the kids set out to search for clues and rebuild Old Glory one star at a time. By tagging a flag, the StarKids are magically teleported to rural areas, cities, historical sites and obscure places where they encounter fascinating people, historic figures and fantastical creatures from folk tales and urban legends.

“The books introduce children to civics, important historical documents and American history, and also align with Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts for fourth and fifth grades,” Crennell explained.

Published in paperback, the StarKids in America: Pennsylvania set brings to 51 the total number of titles that BookPrep has produced for authors during the past seven years. As part of the BookPrep package, EditPros professionally formatted the cover and interior pages of the four StarKids in America books and readied them for print publication.

With BookPrep, authors retain all rights to their books, and collect 100 percent of sales royalties.

We invite you to LEARN MORE about the EditPros BookPrep service.

Arthur P. wrote:

On a radio commercial, I heard the announcer say this: “As a credit union, we’ll help you find better loans and rates. So owning your own home is more possible than ever.”

It seems to me that something is either possible or it’s not. Something can’t be more possible. I understand what they were trying to say, but I don’t think that was the most articulate way to say it. What do you think?

The grammar coach replies:

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