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Abstract

Popular Iconic Metaphor is added to the cognitive linguistic lexicon of figurative language. Popular Iconic Metaphors employ real or fictional celebrities of popular culture as source domains in figurative discourse. Some borders of Popular Iconic Metaphor are identified, and Elvis Presley is offered as a prototype example of a popular iconic source domain, due to his ubiquity in American popular culture, which affords his figurative usage in ways consistent with decision heuristics in everyday life. Further study of Popular Iconic Metaphors may serve to illuminate how figurative expressions emerge in their localized contexts, structure conduct and experience, and affect mediation of cultural and personal meanings.

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Defining Popular Iconic Metaphor

Abstract

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