1. 隐喻;暗喻;比喻的说法
    A metaphor is an imaginative way of describing something by referring to something else which is the same in a particular way. For example, if you want to say that someone is very shy and frightened of things, you might say that they are a mouse.

metaphor的近义词

    e.g. ...the avoidance of 'violent expressions and metaphors' like 'kill two birds with one stone'.
           避免使用“有暴力意味的表达和隐喻”，例如“一石二鸟”
    e.g. ...the writer's use of metaphor.
           作者对隐喻的运用

2. 象征;标志
    If one thing is a metaphor for another, it is intended or regarded as a symbol of it.

    e.g. The divided family remains a powerful metaphor for a society that continued to tear itself apart.
           破碎的家庭仍旧是一个继续分崩离析的社会的有力象征。

3. 混合(使用)隐喻(指同时运用两个矛盾的隐喻)
    If you mix your metaphors, you use two conflicting metaphors. People do this accidentally, or sometimes deliberately as a joke.

    e.g. To mix yet more metaphors, you were trying to run before you could walk, and I've clipped your wings...
           混用更多的隐喻来说，你还没学会走就想跑，而我又剪掉了你的翅膀。
    e.g. Despite the mixed metaphor, there is some truth in this judgement.
           尽管有混用的比喻，这个判断还是有些道理的。