--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But that was the thing about metaphors…" description: "\"“But that was the thing about metaphors, those tricky comparisons of dissimilar things. They weren't always tricky. Or dissimilar.”\" — Kim Culbertson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/324/kim-culbertson-39658_metaphor_but-that-was-the-thing-about-metaphors-t_2883535.jpg" --- # But that was the thing about metaphors, those tricky… ![“But that was the thing about metaphors, those tricky comparisons of dissimilar things. They weren't always tricky. Or dissimilar.” quote by Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/324/kim-culbertson-39658_metaphor_but-that-was-the-thing-about-metaphors-t_2883535.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/324/kim-culbertson-39658_metaphor_but-that-was-the-thing-about-metaphors-t_2883535.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/324/kim-culbertson-39658_metaphor_but-that-was-the-thing-about-metaphors-t_2883535.jpg) > ““But that was the thing about metaphors, those tricky comparisons of dissimilar things. They weren't always tricky. Or dissimilar.”” [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Metaphors can be confusing, yet sometimes they are clear despite differences. **In simple terms:** Metaphors are tricky but not always. Key Takeaway Use analogies wisely. Themes language communication clarity Mood creative analytical Type literary advice When to use this quote - teaching - writing - public speaking - marketing Key Concepts cognitive framing literary devices Questions to Reflect On - When does a metaphor clarify versus confuse? A Different Perspective Misapplied metaphors can mislead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dissimilar Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissimilar-things-4009900/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Metaphors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphors/) [Metaphors Tricky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphors-tricky-4009899/) [Thing Metaphors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-metaphors-3858106/) [Tricky Comparisons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tricky-comparisons-4009901/) ## Related quotes > [The thing about metaphors is that, if you give them away, you give away the mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omi/the-thing-about-metaphors-is-that-if-you-give-them-away-you-give-away/) [OMI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omi/) > [The world is emblematic. Parts of speech are metaphors, because the whole of nature is a metaphor of the human mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-world-is-emblematic-parts-of-speech-are-metaphors-because-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It may be that universal history is the history of the different intonations given a handful of metaphors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/it-may-be-that-universal-history-is-the-history-of-the-different/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I toyed briefly with an image someone once mentioned to me, of a village in the shadow of a twin-peaked mountain. In the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-toyed-briefly-with-an-image-someone-once-mentioned-to-me-of-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [American art in general... takes to surreal exaggerations and metaphors; but its Puritan work ethic has little use for the playful self-indulgence behind Parisian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/american-art-in-general-takes-to-surreal-exaggerations-and-metaphors/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey's fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/life-as-the-most-ancient-of-all-metaphors-insists-is-a-journey-and/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [As history shows, dead metaphors make good idols.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-a-johnson/as-history-shows-dead-metaphors-make-good-idols/) [Elizabeth A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-a-johnson/) > [Metaphors are not user-friendly. They're difficult to find and difficult to use well. Unfortunately, metaphors are a mainstay of good lyric writing-indeed of most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-pattison/metaphors-are-not-user-friendly-they-re-difficult-to-find-and/) [Pat Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-pattison/) > [“Because everything you perceive is a metaphor for something your brain is not equipped to fully understand. God is as real as the clothes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/because-everything-you-perceive-is-a-metaphor-for-something-your/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [She does not love you. Your metaphors thrill her you are her poet. But that's all there's to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/she-does-not-love-you-your-metaphors-thrill-her-you-are-her-poet-but/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [Heart and Brain are the two lords of life. In the metaphors of ordinary speech and in the stricter language of science, we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/heart-and-brain-are-the-two-lords-of-life-in-the-metaphors-of/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Time, space, and causality are only metaphors of knowledge, with which we explain things to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/time-space-and-causality-are-only-metaphors-of-knowledge-with-which/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The cure for mixed metaphors, I have always found, is for the patient to be obliged to draw a picture of the result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-levin/the-cure-for-mixed-metaphors-i-have-always-found-is-for-the-patient/) [Bernard Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-levin/) > [Because you continue to inhabit and believe your metaphors, you cannot see what is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/because-you-continue-to-inhabit-and-believe-your-metaphors-you-cannot/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [“No algorithm exists for the metaphor, nor can a metaphor be produced by means of a computer’s precise instructions, no matter what the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/no-algorithm-exists-for-the-metaphor-nor-can-a-metaphor-be-produced/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More by Kim Culbertson > [“What’s painful is that what you had together, all your inside jokes and favorite restaurants and that movie you both loved but everyone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/what-s-painful-is-that-what-you-had-together-all-your-inside-jokes/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) > [“I don’t think anyone who tries something they love is a failure. I think it’s the people who don’t try who are failures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/i-don-t-think-anyone-who-tries-something-they-love-is-a-failure-i/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) > [“I stand at a window, looking out at a dark world streaked with light. And I see what you see, my eyes filled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/i-stand-at-a-window-looking-out-at-a-dark-world-streaked-with-light/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) > [“Homeschool doesn’t give you a get out of teenage jail free card. It just gives you fewer opportunities to become the butt of someone’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/homeschool-doesn-t-give-you-a-get-out-of-teenage-jail-free-card-it/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) > [“I wanted to say something to him about regret, about how I didn’t really believe in the idea of regret because it was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/i-wanted-to-say-something-to-him-about-regret-about-how-i-didn-t/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) > [“You should try things on, see if they fit you. If they don't, it's not failure. It's a choice. But always let yourself have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/you-should-try-things-on-see-if-they-fit-you-if-they-don-t-it-s-not/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) > [“Love is the beauty of this world pressed nose to nose with all its pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/love-is-the-beauty-of-this-world-pressed-nose-to-nose-with-all-its/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) > [“Instructions for a Broken Heart I will find a bare patch of earth, somewhere where the ruins have fallen away, somewhere where I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/instructions-for-a-broken-heart-i-will-find-a-bare-patch-of-earth/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) > [“But we all want to be together – we want to be a part of something. That in trying to be accepted, wanting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/but-we-all-want-to-be-together-we-want-to-be-a-part-of-something-that/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) > [“Dad always told me I was good at noticing moments, at appreciating the little things in life. It struck me as an odd thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-culbertson/dad-always-told-me-i-was-good-at-noticing-moments-at-appreciating-the/) [Kim Culbertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) [Explore all 11 Kim Culbertson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-culbertson/) ## More Metaphor quotes > [I think zombies have always been an easy metaphor for hard times. Because they're this big, faceless, brainless group of evil things that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-grahame-smith/i-think-zombies-have-always-been-an-easy-metaphor-for-hard-times/) [Seth Grahame-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-grahame-smith/) > [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. Helvetica is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/helvetica-is-the-jeans-and-univers-the-dinner-jacket-helvetica-is/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) > [“No algorithm exists for the metaphor, nor can a metaphor be produced by means of a computer’s precise instructions, no matter what the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/no-algorithm-exists-for-the-metaphor-nor-can-a-metaphor-be-produced/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“Despite which, Charlie seems doomed to stumble around in the dark, clutching pieces of a puzzle he still can't see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/despite-which-charlie-seems-doomed-to-stumble-around-in-the-dark/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [I feel as much of a stud as... I can't come up with a metaphor. That's how lacking in studliness I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-feel-as-much-of-a-stud-as-i-can-t-come-up-with-a-metaphor-that-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because you continue to inhabit and believe your metaphors, you cannot see what is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/because-you-continue-to-inhabit-and-believe-your-metaphors-you-cannot/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [“The bag contained a pair of white cotton gloves stained the color of age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-bag-contained-a-pair-of-white-cotton-gloves-stained-the-color-of/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“People think blood red, but blood don't got no colour. Not when blood wash the floor she lying on as she scream for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/people-think-blood-red-but-blood-don-t-got-no-colour-not-when-blood/) [Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/) > [You know what’s a great metaphor for love? Sleeping beauty. Because you have to plow through this incredible thicket of thorns in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-know-what-s-a-great-metaphor-for-love-sleeping-beauty-because-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [There's something about the superheroes and the idea behind their relationship with humans, whether it's a metaphor for the better part of ourselves, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-gregg/there-s-something-about-the-superheroes-and-the-idea-behind-their/) [Clark Gregg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-gregg/) > [The sense of tragedy - according to Aristotle - comes, ironically enough, not from the protagonist's weak points but from his good qualities. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sense-of-tragedy-according-to-aristotle-comes-ironically-enough/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I explain at the parties that I believe knitting is a transformative and intriguing act that can change the life and brain of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/i-explain-at-the-parties-that-i-believe-knitting-is-a-transformative/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [I was really interested in this ability for others to create virtual memories for us. In "The Cartographers" I explore this through Adam Woods,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/i-was-really-interested-in-this-ability-for-others-to-create-virtual/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [Metaphor isn't just a fancy turn of speech. It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [“I am knee deep in sea water now, feeling the energy of the tidal waves as they roll inwards towards the shore. A tide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-l-marshall/i-am-knee-deep-in-sea-water-now-feeling-the-energy-of-the-tidal-waves/) [Susan L. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-l-marshall/) [Browse all 1,548 Metaphor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But that was the thing about metaphors, those tricky comparisons of dissimilar things. They weren't always tricky. 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