What is an idea-as-resource metaphor?

What is an idea-as-resource metaphor?

Definition
	A conventional metaphor in which an idea is represented as a material resource in comparisons such as the following:
	supply or lack of material resources represents supply or lack of ideas sharing or use of material resources represents sharing or use of ideas

Examples
	Here are some examples in English:
	He ran out of ideas. Let's pool our ideas. We've used up all our ideas. That's a useless idea.

Generic
	An idea-as-resource metaphor is a kind of
	What is a metaphor for rational processes?

Source
	Lakoff, G. and Johnson 1980

Context for this page:

Concept module: idea-as-resource metaphor
In modular book: Metaphors in English, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H. Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Lexicon

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 September 1998