Cooking Metaphors

See Also: Sensory Metaphors  Farming Metaphors Fishing Metaphors 

Metaphors of Space, Etc.  Metaphor List 

Grill: The lawyer grilled the witness on the stand. Tough questions create a damaging level of heat that makes physical contact.  

Cook: He knew he was cooked when he saw his boss standing at the desk. Cooked is caught or responsible for wrongdoing, as if prior to being caught, one is raw or unfinished.

Toast: He knew he was going to be toast when he got home. Anger is heat that burns its target.

Singe: Feel the singe of rejection. Rejection causes superficial burns on the mind (compare to grill or cook).

Fry: She knew she was fried when the teacher handed back her paper. Like grill, this involves higher temperatures.

Bake: It was a half-baked idea. Ideas progress in edibility, and must be fully baked to be of value. Thought is the heat that develops ideas.

Simmer: The crowd began to simmer down. Heat is activity, and activity is heat.

Boil: The boss was boiling mad. A lot of heat produces a lot of activity.

Baste: He basted her with flattery to get the job. Flattery is a preparatory salve.

Recipe: A recipe for disaster. A disaster is the finished product of bad ingredients and processes.

Flame: I was flamed on a message board. Punishment is fire.

Roast: A celebrity roast. Jocular insults are as hot as real ones.

Peel: Keep your eyes peeled. Your eyelid is a rind, your eyes are the fruit of vision.

Stew: The decision had him in a stew. A decision is a mixture of whole ingredients that must be simmered together, however incompatible in this case.

Pickle: That's a real pickle of a problem. Some problems cannot be resolved, as if preserved indefinitely.

Raw: She had a raw talent for music. Talent is only potential, and must be developed (cooked).

Burnt: Burned by a shady deal. A transaction is fire, which, if not handled properly, may leave one injured.

Stir: Stirring up all kinds of emotions. Our emotions settle into levels in our minds, the top level is the most visible.

Tasty: Tasty tidbits of information. The mind has a palate that prefers certain thoughts and information, and in small, easily digested servings.

Food: Food for thought. The mind is hungry, and eats ideas.

Dish: Dish out more criticism than one can take. Criticism comes in portions that fill a plate.

Plate: My plate is already too full. A plate is a flat, limited space for solid thoughts.

Serve: Served up a number of suggestions. Suggestions are food for thought.

Appetite: Children have an enormous appetite for learning. Appetite is also targeted hunger - children will have preferences in their diets.

Digest: Take a moment to digest the info. Processing data involves breaking down, changing and sorting it.

Swallow: Difficult to swallow. Data that is unfit for the mind needs extra effort.

Mull: She began to mull it over in her mind. Consideration is a slow, patient warming process that leads to something good and easy to swallow (a liquid).

See Also: Sensory Metaphors  Farming Metaphors Fishing Metaphors 

Weather Metaphors Metaphors of Space, Etc. Metaphor List