Metaphor clusters in political discourse

Abstract The paper explores the creative combination of metaphors, both complex and mixed. The data for the study are drawn from political discourse concerning the target concept of crisis . Building on the argument that constructional parameters facilitate metaphor clustering, the paper also focuses on adjectival constructions. The general claim that constructional parameters and figurative meaning are interdependent is thus supported. It is shown that as complex and mixed metaphors are created, they both reveal and emphasize the speakers’ political ideologies.