... conceptualised as objects that move up and down, through lexis such as rising and falling, soaring and plummeting, edging up and slipping back… 9 Lakoff and Johnson (1980:p.6) argue that human thought ... is increasingly seen as pervading everyday patterns of discourse, and makes the argument that, far from merely being an ornamental literary device, it is fundamental to thought and understanding. ... activate suitable metaphors at the conceptual level – a failure to assimilate the new to the already existing. Many of today’s standard meaning of words and expressions began as metaphors, and...