Collocations 11: Metaphor

Jun 28, 2016

Metaphors are more common in written than spoken English and often have the effect of sounding quite poetic.

Light and dark
- face . . .
  shines
- eyes . . .
  shine
- face . . .
  lights up
- eyes . . .
  light up
- an atmosphere . . .
  lightens
- a mood . . .
  lightens
- . . .
  dark
  thoughts
- . . .
  dark
  days
- . . .
  dark
  times
- face . . .
  darkens
- eyes . . .
  darken
- someone’s expression . . .
  darkens
Water
- ideas . . .
  flow
- conversation . . .
  flows
- a . . .
  flood
  of tears
- . . .
  floods
  of tears
- tears . . .
  streaming
  down someone’s face
- people . . .
  pour
  somewhere
- people . . .
  stream
  somewhere
- people . . .
  trickle
- a s . . .
  tream
  of visitors
- a . . .
  stream
  of traffic
Fire and Heat
- . . .
  heated
  debate
- . . .
  heated
  discussion
- . . .
  heated
  conversation
- . . .
  fiery
  temper
- tempers . . .
  flared
- violence . . .
  flares
  up
- troubles . . .
  flare
  up
- cheeks . . .
  burn
  with embarrassment
- . . .
  blaze
  of glory
- . . .
  blaze
  of publicity
Use a word from the list in the correct form to complete each collocation.
- 1. I could tell Maria was in a good mood by the . . .
  sunny
  smile on her face.
  - dark
  - sunny
  - heat
- 2. The little boy’s eyes . . .
  lit up
  when he saw his daddy approaching.
  - flared
  - lit up
  - darkened
- 3. Let’s put some happy music on to . . .
  lighten
  the atmosphere. Everyone’s too serious.
  - lighten
  - flood
  - darken
- 4. My grandparents lived through the . . .
  dark
  days of civil war from 1936 to 1939.
  - light
  - dark
  - sunny
- 5. The girl’s eyes . . .
  were shining
  with excitement as she prepared for the party.
  - were flared
  - were burned
  - were shining
- 6. Mr. Garnham’s expression . . .
  darkened
  as he was told the terrible news.
  - darkened
  - lightened
  - streamed
Read these remarks by different people, then answer the questions.
- Jason:       I was in floods of tears. It was such a sad film.
  
  Thomas:       An hour before the match there was already a trickle of vehicles entering the car park.
  
  Emma:       I had a heated conversation with Helena the other day.
  
  Paula:       I didn’t think there’d be much traffic today but there was a steady stream of vehicles on the main highway.
  
  Rob:       Tempers flared, I’m afraid, and mine was one of them.
  
  Yvonne:       Everyone was pouring out of the stadium as I drove past.
  
  1. Who saw a lot of cars?
  - Emma
  - Jason
  - Thomas
  - Paula
  - Rob
  - Yvonne
- 2. Who got very angry indeed?
  - Yvonne
  - Emma
  - Rob
  - Jason
  - Paula
  - Thomas
- 3. Who saw a lot of people all at once?
  - Jason
  - Rob
  - Emma
  - Yvonne
  - Paula
  - Thomas
- 4. Who had a disagreement or argument?
  - Yvonne
  - Paula
  - Emma
  - Thomas
  - Jason
  - Rob
- 5. Who saw a small number of cars?
  - Rob
  - Jason
  - Yvonne
  - Paula
  - Thomas
  - Emma
- 6. Who cried over something?
  - Yvonne
  - Jason
  - Rob
  - Emma
  - Thomas
  - Paula
- 1. with / cheeks / embarrassment / burning / were / My
- 2. city / up / has / in / capital / flared / the / Violence
- 3. flowed / The / during / discussion / ideas / the
- 4. divorce / was / footballer’s / The / publicity / surrounded / famous / a / by / blaze / of
Answer the questions.
- 1. What is most likely to be fiery?
  - someone’s temper
  - someone’s intelligence
- 2. Which is the most typical collocation?
  - a blaze of glory
  - a blaze of joy
  - a blaze of temper
- 3. What is most likely to be heated?
  - troubles
  - cheeks
  - discussions
- 4. What is most likely to flare up?
  - violence
  - interest
  - love
Use a dictionary to find collocations using these words in a metaphorical way.
- bright warm cold
  
  Possible answers
  a bright future — a future that is looking happy and successful
  a bright child — an intelligent child
  a warm welcome — a friendly welcome
  a warm smile — a friendly smile
  cold eyes — unfriendly eyes
  a cold stare — an unfriendly stare

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