Why do we talk in metaphors without even noticing?

Because metaphors are not just decoration: they are one of the main ways we understand abstract things. A metaphor describes one thing by mentioning another, like Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage". George Lakoff and Mark Johnson argued in 1980 that such comparisons are everywhere in daily life, in how we think and act, not just how we talk. We use what we know from our bodies and everyday experience to grasp ideas like time, work and feelings.

Listen for them and they pop up everywhere. "Time is money": we spend it, save it, waste it. "Argument is war": we attack positions and defend claims. Ideas are food: we devour a book, digest the facts, let them simmer, and hope our explanation isn't half-baked. Even single words hide old metaphors: "window" was once the "wind eye", and "metaphor" itself comes from a Greek word for transference, carrying meaning from one place to another.

Because they shape thought, metaphors can also steer decisions. In a 2011 study by Thibodeau and Boroditsky, people who read that crime was a "beast preying on the city" favored tougher policing, while those told it was a "virus infecting the city" favored reform and prevention. A phrase like "tax relief" quietly suggests taxes are a burden.

Aristotle thought being "a master of metaphor" was the greatest gift of all and a sign of genius. Today we know we are all users of metaphor, mostly without noticing, which is exactly why it is worth noticing.