Metaphors are taught in formal education as a way of appreciating and creating
literature. They are also intentionally designed in other contexts to illuminate a point,
stir the imagination and spur action. They are harnessed by politicians to win votes
and score points, embraced by marketers to sell products and services and
manipulated by management to achieve corporate goals. As academics we use
building images when referring to theoretical frameworks, social construction, laying
foundations and demolishing arguments. Given their widespread usage, metaphors
become part of everyday discourse and are often used spontaneously to describe
personal experience. At their best, they are vivid images that generate new ways of
conceptualizing phenomena. At their worst, they ossify into buzzwords (Cluley, 2013),
tired idioms, cliche´s, political sound bites and vapid bumper stickers