Metaphor Basics

The Tenure of a metaphor is the object you start with and are trying to describe.

The Vehicle of a metaphor is the object you are comparing the tenure with.


Metaphor of the Day Assignment (MDA):

Use these tenures and vehicles to make a metaphor.

Tenure: Clouds
Vehicle: Bread Crumbs

Example: The clouds were like bread crumbs.

This is rather simplistic, as it does not explain why the clouds are like bread crumbs or what particular aspect of clouds resemble bread crumbs.

There is sometimes a third part to metaphors: the explanation (or the tie). This part comes after the tenure and vehicle and explains how the vehicle is like the tenure. This becomes more important with advanced forms of the metaphor but I’ll post that later.
Example: The clouds were like bread crumbs soaking up the last rays of gravy from the sun.