"Chasing Windmills"

Today I received an email message from a person whose opinions I almost always respect. Today, however, the first sentence contained the phrase "chasing windmills". While there is a possibility, however remote, that a windmill might attempt to escape, what the writer was thinking of was probably "tilting at windmills", a reference to Don Quixote, or possibly "chasing rainbows". Either way, the sentence as written was enough to start me thinking about what teachers call mixed metaphors.

In another recent message, the writer talked about "fighting upstream about finding time". (I sighed.) "Fighting a losing battle"? Sure. "Swimming upstream"? Sure. Either one. The "swimming upstream" metaphor has particular appeal in this case because of the metaphor of time as a river or stream. I couldn't help think of the song that contains the line "Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all [of us] away."

The sentences "It's not brain surgery." and "It's not rocket science." have become clichés. In fact, some people have intentionally combined them for humorous effect: "It's not rocket surgery." Fine. The speaker and the listeners know that clichés should be avoided, and that the usage was intentional.

An Internet search for "mixed metaphor list" will give many examples, some intentionally funny, and others probably not.

All opinions expressed are mine, and are not necessarily those of my employer. Comments are welcome; spam is not. Contrasting opinions are welcome; attacks are not.