--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good metaphor is something even the…" description: "\"A good metaphor is something even the police should keep an eye on.\" — Georg C. Lichtenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_eye_a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-po_2197103.png" --- # A good metaphor is something even the police should keep… ![“A good metaphor is something even the police should keep an eye on.” quote by Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_eye_a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-po_2197103.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_eye_a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-po_2197103.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_eye_a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-po_2197103.png) > “A good metaphor is something even the police should keep an eye on.” [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker humorously warns that metaphors can be misleading, suggesting even law enforcement should be cautious of figurative language. **In simple terms:** Metaphors can be deceptive; be careful. Key Takeaway Watch out for misleading metaphors. Themes communication critical thinking law Mood witty critical Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - legal analysis - writing - education Key Concepts semantic ambiguity interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How can we discern useful metaphors from harmful ones? - What impact do metaphors have on legal reasoning? A Different Perspective Metaphors are essential for thought, not always dangerous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police/) ## Related quotes > [“Contra la policía/Against the Police My entire Oeuvre is against the police If I write a Love poem it’s against the police And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-james/contra-la-polic-a-against-the-police-my-entire-oeuvre-is-against-the/) Miguel James > [Flower was a good metaphor for growth. The song is obviously about sexual responsibility, so that was the main metaphor. Also, it's like knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jody-watley/flower-was-a-good-metaphor-for-growth-the-song-is-obviously-about/) [Jody Watley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jody-watley/) > [If you remember only one thing I've said, remember that an idea is a feat of association, and the height of it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/if-you-remember-only-one-thing-i-ve-said-remember-that-an-idea-is-a/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The saying "the cherry on top" is only a good metaphor if the person listening or reading actually likes cherries on top of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-jones/the-saying-the-cherry-on-top-is-only-a-good-metaphor-if-the-person/) [Christopher Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-jones/) > [“I’m going to destroy you, little man!" Sourcefield yelled after me. "I’ll rip you apart like a piece of tissue paper in a hurricane!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-m-going-to-destroy-you-little-man-sourcefield-yelled-after-me-i-ll/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Fishing is quite a good metaphor for life. You do your prep, you do your thinking, you put your bait out, and you wait,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-wade/fishing-is-quite-a-good-metaphor-for-life-you-do-your-prep-you-do/) [Jeremy Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-wade/) > [“Aristotle said29 that "the greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor. It is the one thing that cannot be learnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bosnak/aristotle-said29-that-the-greatest-thing-by-far-is-to-be-a-master-of/) Robert Bosnak > [A good title should be like a good metaphor. It should intrigue without being too baffling or too obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/a-good-title-should-be-like-a-good-metaphor-it-should-intrigue/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor; it is the one thing that cannot be learned from others; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-greatest-thing-by-far-is-to-be-a-master-of-metaphor-it-is-the-one/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“A good metaphor is worth a thousand pictures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-craig-living-the-hero-s-journey/a-good-metaphor-is-worth-a-thousand-pictures/) Will Craig, Living the Hero's Journey > [I always thought that in modern history Chinese people are like a dish of sand, never really close together. But I think a dish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-always-thought-that-in-modern-history-chinese-people-are-like-a/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [What's a good metaphor for a Harvard student? A talking, gold-plated pile of manure, wearing a fleece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/what-s-a-good-metaphor-for-a-harvard-student-a-talking-gold-plated/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [“Tornadoes are a good metaphor for how bad things happen in our lives. They build from small disturbances that usually don’t mean a thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-rojstaczer/tornadoes-are-a-good-metaphor-for-how-bad-things-happen-in-our-lives/) [Stuart Rojstaczer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-rojstaczer/) > [The genesis of a poem for me is usually a cluster of words. The only good metaphor I can think of is a scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-genesis-of-a-poem-for-me-is-usually-a-cluster-of-words-the-only/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [You have to put your own oxygen mask before you put on others... It's a good metaphor for parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-peet/you-have-to-put-your-own-oxygen-mask-before-you-put-on-others-it-s-a/) [Amanda Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-peet/) ## More by Georg C. Lichtenberg > [If people should ever start to do only what is necessary millions would die of hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/if-people-should-ever-start-to-do-only-what-is-necessary-millions/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [The wisdom of providence is as much revealed in the rarity of genius, as in the circumstance that not everyone is deaf or blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-wisdom-of-providence-is-as-much-revealed-in-the-rarity-of-genius/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [I ceased in the year 1764 to believe that one can convince one’s opponents with arguments printed in books. It is not to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/i-ceased-in-the-year-1764-to-believe-that-one-can-convince-one-s/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Probably no invention came more easily to man than heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/probably-no-invention-came-more-easily-to-man-than-heaven/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [It is a great shame; most of our words are misused tools / which often still smell of the mud in which previous owners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/it-is-a-great-shame-most-of-our-words-are-misused-tools-which-often/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [To live when you do not want to is dreadful, but it would be even more terrible to be immortal when you did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/to-live-when-you-do-not-want-to-is-dreadful-but-it-would-be-even-more/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [He who understands the wise is wise already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/he-who-understands-the-wise-is-wise-already/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [The fruits of philosophy are the important thing, not the philosophy itself. When we ask the time, we don't want to know how watches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-fruits-of-philosophy-are-the-important-thing-not-the-philosophy/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [He who says he hates all kinds of flattery, and says so in earnest, has undoubtedly not as yet become acquainted with all kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/he-who-says-he-hates-all-kinds-of-flattery-and-says-so-in-earnest-has/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [One can live in this world on soothsaying but not on truth saying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/one-can-live-in-this-world-on-soothsaying-but-not-on-truth-saying/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Actual aristocracy cannot be abolished by any law: all the law can do is decree how it is to be imparted and who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/actual-aristocracy-cannot-be-abolished-by-any-law-all-the-law-can-do/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [One of the greatest and also the commonest of faults is for men to believe that, because they never hear their shortcomings spoken of,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/one-of-the-greatest-and-also-the-commonest-of-faults-is-for-men-to/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [People who never have any time on their hands are those who do the least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/people-who-never-have-any-time-on-their-hands-are-those-who-do-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [An hour-glass is a reminder not only of time's quick flight, but also of the dust to which we must at last return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/an-hour-glass-is-a-reminder-not-only-of-time-s-quick-flight-but-also/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) [Explore all 295 Georg C. Lichtenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) ## More Eye quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/he-blinked-his-eyes-fell-as-he-processed-her-response-then-he-lifted/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [Clearly, when we baptize, our eyes should gaze beyond the baptismal font to the holy temple. The great garner into which the sheaves should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/clearly-when-we-baptize-our-eyes-should-gaze-beyond-the-baptismal/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) Browse all 16,237 Eye quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A good metaphor is something even the police should keep an eye on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Georg C. Lichtenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-police-should-keep-an-eye-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-police-should-keep-an-eye-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_eye_a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-po_2197103.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_eye_a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-po_2197103.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_eye_a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-po_2197103.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A good metaphor is something even the police should keep an eye on.” — Georg C. Lichtenberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Georg C. Lichtenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A good metaphor is something even...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-police-should-keep-an-eye-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/a-good-metaphor-is-something-even-the-police-should-keep-an-eye-on/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```