Metaphors and meanings

Metaphor | Literal meaning | Metaphorical meaning |
To point the finger at | To indicate with your finger | To put the blame on |
Had a few hiccups | A hiccup is a sudden, involuntary gulp-likesound in your throat | Had a few problems |
Broke his heart | Stopped his heart functioning | Hurt him very deeply |
Takes your breath away | Gives you difficulty breathing | To leave you stunnedand unable to speak |
Scarred her for life | A scar is the physical mark left by a cut or burn | Caused her permanent psychological damage |
Came to me in a flash | A flash of light | It suddenlyoccurred to me |
Glowing with pride | To glow like a fire or light | Visibly very, very proud |
Sparked my interest | A spark is a tiny flame that can start a fire | Awakened my interest |
Beingovershadowed | Blocked from the light by something bigger than you | Appearing inferior in comparison to |
It dawned on me | Dawn is when the sun rises | I realized |
Stormy relationshipBlazingrows | With frequent rain, thunder, and lightningA blazing fire burns strongly | A relationship in which people row a lot. Very angry rows with lots of shouting |
Blossomed | Flowers blossom whenthey begin to open up | Developed successfully |
In flood of tears | There are floods when it rains so much that the rivers burst their banks | Crying a lot, uncontrollably |
The root of | Theunderground base of a plant or tree | The fundamental cause of |
Haven’t the foggiest idea | On a foggy day you cant see anything clearly | Really don’t know or understand |
Reach a crossroads | Come toa junction of our roads | Reach a point in life when an important choice has to be made |
Followed in his father’s footsteps | Walked behind his father | Did what his father did (professionally) |Rambling speech | You ramble when you walk with no planned direction | Long-winded and poorly-planned speech |
Going round in circles | Following the same circular path | Making no progress at...