A conceptual or common metaphor is one that we use with little notice. In fact, some metaphor is so pervasive that we must struggle to avoid falling prey to its subtle suggestion. Consider ...
-
Good is Up
- My feelings soared.
- I look up to him.
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Thinking is Seeing
- Let me make that clear.
- I'm a little foggy about that.
Contrast with the figurative metaphor ...
- Love me like a Rock
Conceptual metaphors assemble into self consistent systems that are propagated across languages and over generations.
LakoffAndJohnson's MetaphorsWeLiveBy, and also GeorgeLakoff's WomenFireAndDangerousThings, introduce the theory, philosophy and politics of conceptual metaphor. Or, perhaps even better, Janet Martin Soskice's "Metaphor And Religious Language" (ISBN: 0198249829 ).