What is a mind-as-brittle-object metaphor?

What is a mind-as-brittle-object metaphor?

Definition
	A conventional metaphor in which the mind is represented as a physical object that is easily broken.

Examples
	Here are some examples in English:
	Her ego is very fragile. He broke under cross-examination. I'm going to pieces. His mind snapped.

Generic
	A mind-as-brittle-object metaphor is a kind of
	What is a metaphor for mind?

Source
	Lakoff, G. and Johnson 1980

Context for this page:

Concept module: mind-as-brittle-object metaphor
In modular book: Metaphors in English, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H. Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Lexicon

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 September 1998