A trite metaphor is one that is overused in speech, so that in has lost its freshness of expression. Such metaphors often turn into idiomatic phrases, fixed in dictionaries: seeds of evil; a rooted prejudice, a flight of imagination, in the heat of argument; to burn with desire, to fish for compliments.
Usually the metaphors (especially, cliches) are rather easy for translation: they are translated either by keeping to semantic similarity, e.g., ray of hope – лучнадежды, or by choosing an appropriate pragmatic equivalent, e.g., flood of tears – мореслёз.
We distinguish genuine and trite metaphors. The metaphors in which images are quite unexpected are called genuine. Those which are commonly used-are called trite or dead metaphors. Genuine metaphors are also called speech metaphors .Genuine metaphors can easily become trite if they are frequently repeated.
There is an opinion that a metaphor is a productive way of building up new meanings and new words. Language can be called the “dictionary of faded metaphors”.
Examples of trite metaphors: The salt of life; a flight of imagination: the ladder of fame; to burn with passion (anger). The following metaphors enriched English phraseology; foot of a bed, leg of a chair, head of a nail, to be in the same boat, blind window, to fish for complements.
Very often trite metaphors are given new force and their primary dead meaning is created a new. It is achieved by introducing new additional images. Such metaphors are called sustained or prolonged: “Our family rivulet joined other streams and the stream was a river pouring into St. Thomas Church” (J. Steinbeck).
Thus, trite metaphors regain freshness due to the prolongation. Metaphors may have a sustained form in cases with genuine metaphors as well.
Usually a metaphor may be expressed by any part of speech.
The main function of the metaphor is to create images. Genuine metaphors create bright images in poetry and emotive prose. Trite metaphors are widely used in newspaper and scientific style. Here it is not a shortcoming of style. They help the author make the meaning more concrete and brighten his writing as it is an indispensable quality of human thought and perception.