In:Crises We Live By: A transdisciplinary study of crisis and its metaphors in their cultural context
Edited by Irene Leonardis
[Cognitive Linguistic Studies in Cultural Contexts 20] 2026
► pp. 263–267
Index
Published online: 5 February 2026
https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.20.index
https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.20.index
A
A
- abyss 116, 201, 203, 213, 216, 243, 245
- acquittal
- see trial
- Aeneid 118, 120
- Aeschylus 182, 192–197
- aggression
- see war
- Agrippa122
- akmē
- see tipping point
- Alcaeus of Mytilene 27n., 115, 187–189
- Alföldy, Géza122
- allegory
- see extension of metaphor
- (un)ambiguity
121, 124, 179,
234, 244–245, 249–252, 258
- see also uncertainty
- anakyklōsis 20–24, 31–32
- Anthropocene 135, 139–140, 144
- anti-stigma campaign70
- (Mark) Antony 227, 230, 234n., 235
- Appraisal Theory60
- appropriation 80, 86
- Archilochus of Paros187
- argument is war 42, 102
- Aristippus 253–254
- aristocracy viii-ix, 21–23, 26n., 27, 30–31, 34–36, 229
- Aristotle 24, 25n., 33n., 34, 96, 111, 130
- Arrese, Ángel 49, 54
- Auerbach, Erich140
- (Octavian) Augustus 122, 220, 222, 230, 235–236
B
- bad is down (down is bad)
8–9, 34,
140–141, 181, 228, 233
- see also fall
- Bagli, Marco58
- Bakhtin, Mikhail11
- balance
- see imbalance
- Barcelona, Antonio8
- Barthes, Roland154
- Bean, Sean 158–159
- Bernand de Clairvaux140
- betrayal
- see trap
- Bieber, Justin 169–170
- Bird Flu169
- blending theory 10, 233
- Blumenberg, Hans 16, 101, 103, 183n., 184n., 248–258
- body/state metaphor 4, 106, 210, 235n.
- body is a container84
- Bolognesi, Marianna M.58
- border
- see liminality
- Buddhism216
- building 222–223, 225
C
- (Julius) Caesar 227, 234–236
- Cameron, Lynne75
- Cannae (battle of) 21, 35
- Cantor, Georg
- see set theory
- Castro Seixas, Eunice58
- catastrophic injuries
- see life-changing injuries
- Catiline 227, 230–231, 232n., 233, 234n.
- cause for effect metonymy 8, 10, 164, 222–223
- change124
- change is movement 27, 30–31, 36
- chaos 21n., 201–203, 205
- Charadeau, Patrick129
- Charteris-Black, Jonathan 60–62, 82, 86, 129, 172, 233
- Chernobyl 11, 138
- Chilton, Paul 234, 236
- Chiwŏn, Pak 215–216
- Chongjik, Kim208
- Chŏng Yagyong 214–215
- Christianity106
- chronotope11
- Churchill, Winston110
- Cicero 24, 115–116, 118–119, 221–222, 226n., 227, 229–236
- Cleopatra235
- Clodius 230–233
- Coco, Michelle 139–140
- Cognitive Theory of Metaphor and Metonymy (CTMM)8
- Cold War 104, 234
- collapse 6, 8, 10, 202, 221–230, 232–233, 235–236, 246–247, 251–252, 256
- collective memory(-making) 5, 11–12, 23n., 147
- Combei, Claudia Roberta59
- competition 8, 10, 157, 167–169, 171
- conceptual blending
- see blending theory
- Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) 3, 41–42, 75, 128, 221
- condemnation
- see trial
- conflict
- see war
- Confucianism (Confucius) 200–203, 212, 214, 216
- consciousness and unconscious are locations81
- consensus(-building) 104–105
- conspiracy theory vii, 165
- constitutions are buildings
- see states are buildings
- c. are living beings 29–32, 37
- containers
- see physical object
- cop26 127–128, 130
- coronavirus is a dish
- see metaphor (gastronomic)
- COVID-19 pandemic
vii, 11, 42,
44, 48, 55–60, 99–102, 150–151
- coping with c. 152, 156, 158, 160–162, 164, 166–168, 170–171
- social distancing 166–167
- crisis
- account of c.
vii, 5, 234
- negative 6, 54, 58–59, 60, 64, 102–105, 110n., 204
- positive 60, 110, 122, 124, 204, 223
- climate c.
48, 128–148
- metaphor of 62–63, 129–147
- eruption of c. 242–243, 251, 254, 256
- experience of c.
viii, 3–4, 8, 68–86, 99
- identity c. 69, 77, 83–84, 86
- financial (global) c. 42, 44, 46–47, 49–55, 109
- foundation c. 255–256, 257n.
- of modernity 245, 251
- process of c. 4, 6, 10, 111
- result of c.
4, 8, 10
- alternatives (positive/negative) 4, 6–7, 8n., 64, 110, 121, 145, 180, 205
- of the Roman Republic 220, 229–236
- Severan122
- of sexuality 242–247, 249, 251
- solution of c. viii, 242, 244–254
- account of c.
vii, 5, 234
- “crisitunity”204
- Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) 5n., 42, 54–55, 150
- Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) 128, 222
- criticism (critical thinking) 201–202, 210, 212–217
- crossroads 170, 203 ; see also journey and separation
- cultural memory 5, 12, 163
- cycle (cyclicality) ix, 20–24, 26, 32, 35–36
- Czerny, Robert96
D
- damnatio memoriae228
- danger 9n., 29, 36, 116, 120–121, 142, 165, 178, 180, 183–194, 196–197, 201–208, 210–213, 216–217
- Daoism 202, 205, 212–213, 216
- death 4, 10, 29, 84–86, 99, 102–106, 134–135, 142, 146, 159, 163, 186, 202–203, 205, 212–213, 223–224, 235n.
- decarbonisation 132–134
- democracy 21–22, 23n., 25, 26n., 29–31, 34–36, 115, 122
- Derrida, Jacques 93–95, 98
- disaster
63, 128, 182, 192, 226, 231
- nuclear53
- discourse
- dynamics 75, 76n.
- historical-approach (DHA)5n.
- participants 151, 155
- disease viii, 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 41, 59–61, 81, 93, 99–107, 111–112, 129, 131–132, 147, 163–164, 170, 205, 210, 221, 223–224, 254, 256
- dispositif 94–95, 98, 103
- disruption
- see separation
- dissent
- see criticism
- distress at sea
- see shipwreck
- domus (Ancient Roman house) 226n., 227–229, 233
- Don’t look up (2021)147
- doomism (climate) 135, 147
- doomsday 3–4, 8, 10–12, 62, 129–130, 134–147, 164, 169
- downward directionality
- see fall
- Dryden, John112
- Dupuy, Jean-Pierre136
- dystopia
- see metaphor (dystopian)
E
- Ebola169
- eco-anxiety 136–137, 139, 142–147
- edge (of a knife or a razor)
- see tipping point
- see also danger
- embodiment 7, 10, 62, 72, 80, 155
- end of the World
- see doomsday
- enemy
- see war
- Enlighted catastrophism136
- entanglement
- see knot
- Erll, Astrid12
- Esposito, Roberto 105–107
- Euripides111
- event structure metaphor
- see change is movement
- evil
- see monster
- explosive substance
- see physical object
- Extended CMT Theory 4, 222
- extension of metaphor
- see metaphor
F
- fall (downfall, pitfall, see also collapse and trap) 26n., 33–34, 122, 141–142, 180–182, 202–209, 213, 223, 226, 233, 235, 254
- Fairclough, Norman229
- Fantham, Elaine230n.
- fear mongering233
- feast 140, 157, 162, 171
- feel 76–77
- fight
- see war
- figura Christi140
- fire 55, 61–63, 142, 144, 213, 221, 224, 226–227
- first person accounts
69, 71–72
- role of metaphors 71–73
- flood 61, 193, 201–203
- ford 202, 215n.
- foreignness 105–106
- Fort Detrick104
- Foucault, Michel 106–107
- fountainhead21
- frame (metaphorical or narrative) 42, 54–55, 58–61, 63–64, 129, 132, 139, 142, 142–147, 151, 163, 171–172, 221, 225, 235, 247, 252
- Franks, Heather78
- freedom vii, 104, 167, 204–205, 207–208
- Frege, Gottlob 255–256
- Freud, Sigmund 242, 245–247, 249, 251–254, 256–258
G
- game
- see competition
- The Game of Thrones 158–159
- geometry 216, 246, 249, 253–254
- Gibbs, Raymond W. Jr.78
- GIEC (Group d’Experts Intergouvernemental sur l’Évolution Climatique) 129, 138–139
- goal
- see journey
- good is up (up is good) 8, 34, 181
- (Ancient) Greek Philosophy106
- Grenzverletzung183n.
- grief
- see death
- Grillo, Luca230n.
- group performance (playing in a string quartet) 157, 166–167, 171
- Guanzhong, Luo209
H
- Han Fei201
- health 52–54
- healthtalk.org73
- Heidegger, Martin94
- hell
- see doomsday
- Herbold, Sarah244
- hero
58, 84, 137, 140, 160–161, 165, 201
- see also war
- Hesiod 9n., 184–185
- Hilbert, David 256–257
- Hobbes, Thomasix
- homogenising role of English 55, 62
- Horace235
- human being
- see living being
- humour 152, 159–160, 162, 165, 167–171
- The Hunger Games 160–162
I
- ideological power of metaphor
- see metaphor (political)
- Iliad 101, 179–181
- illness
- see disease
- imbalance (physical instability) 6–7, 10, 33–34, 37, 179–182, 197, 205
- immunes defences101
- immunisation106
- Inhong, Chŏng 209, 212
- injuries
- are possessions 79–80, 86
- are companions79
- acceptance of i. is appropriation80
- experiencing i. is losing memory and time79
- experiencing an i. is experiencing a loss 79, 86
- experiencing i. (and recovery) is being in places unexplored by others81
- Ishiguro, Kazuoviii
J
- Jinping, Xi60
- Johnson, Boris 60, 137, 139, 146
- Johnson, Mark 3, 41, 102–103, 139, 192n.
- journey 53, 76, 78, 81–82, 85–86, 157, 169–171, 203, 216
- juncture
- see tipping point
K
- Kant, immanuel250
- Kästner, Abraham Gotthelf254
- Kilgarriff, Adam128
- kingship
- see monarchy
- knot 203–204
- Koryŏ dynasty211
- Koselleck, Reinhart 1–4, 40–41, 43, 222–223
- Kövecses, Zoltán 4–7, 222, 225
- krisis (Ancient Greek term) 1, 4, 10, 20, 110–111, 178, 223
- Kyubo, Yi 207–208
L
- Lakoff, George 4, 27, 40, 102–103, 139, 194n.
- Lapaige, Véronique142
- Last Judgment
- see doomsday
- Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci) 139–140
- (de)legitimisation 152, 155, 157, 159–160, 162, 164–165, 167, 169–171, 212
- Lewis, John 103–104
- lexicalisation 93, 101
- life-changing injuries 68, 71
- liminality
7, 183n., 203, 244, 255
- see also tipping point
- liquid object
- see physical object
- living being
53–54
- human59
- Lord of the Rings 161, 163
- loss 80, 86, 146
- Luporini, Antonella 52, 59
M
- Machiavelli24
- Macron, Emmanuel 100–101
- Maecenas122
- mapping
8, 42, 61, 154, 171,
233
- conventional 222–223
- Marchionni, Roberta236
- Measles169
- Mebane, Juliane115
- (re-)mediation 11–12
- memers151
- (internet) memes
151–170
- recontextualization of m. 152–153
- Mental Space (MS)225
- metabolē29n.
- metaphor
- absolute (or background) m. 6, 101, 247–249, 258
- biological m. 29–32, 37
- biopolitical m. 105–106
- cluster of m. 3–4, 6, 130
- commodity m. 157, 164–165, 171
- context of m. 3–6, 10, 42, 54, 59, 61–62, 69, 72, 75, 129, 133, 143, 155–156, 168, 222, 225–226
- dead (sleeping) m. 4, 92–93
- deliberate m. 222, 230
- dystopian (apocalyptic) m. see doomsday
- extension of m. (or metaphorical extension) 5, 111, 113n., 115, 120, 186–192, 194, 197, 210, 233
- gastronomic m. 157, 162–164
- history of m. 253, 257
- legacy of m. 221, 235–236
- military m. see war
- mixed m. 69, 80, 82, 86
- multimodal m. 59, 139–140, 142, 151–158, 164, 169, 171
- ontological m. 25, 180
- orientational m.139
- poetic m.194n.
- political m.
104–105, 115–116, 119, 145, 148, 151, 187–192, 222, 226, 229, 234
- bias of political m. 222, 226–227, 235
- religious m. see religion
- signalled m.192n.
- stability m. see safety
- symptom-specific m.72
- systematic m. 75–76
- time bomb m. see doomsday
- topographic m. 203–204, 206, 213, 217
- verbo-pictorial m. 151–152, 154, 156
- metaphorisation
93–99, 103, 130, 151
- intertwined m. of war and illness 99–104
- metaphorology 242, 247–251
- metonymy-metaphor continuum 8, 10, 224
- moment discursive128
- monarchy 21–22, 23n., 27–31, 34–36, 122, 228, 230, 236
- Mongju, Chŏng211
- monster 58, 169, 242n., 243–244, 247, 251, 254, 256, 258
- Montesquieu24
- more is better182
- mountain slide
- see collapse
- movement
- see journey
- mutiny 29, 37, 190
- mythopoesis 152, 159, 171
N
- Narrative Experiences Online (NEON) programme70
- narratives
- fluid n.70
- of illness 69–70, 77
- multidimensional n.70
- non-linear n. 70–71
- of recovery 69–70, 75, 77
- natural force 52–54
- Nerlich, Brigitte 144–146
- Neurath, Otto257
- Nietzsche, Friedrich 5, 98
- Nixon, Richard104
- nonconceptuality 248, 250–251
O
- Octavian
- see Augustus
- Odyssey 9, 120, 184
- ontological content7
- ontological vehemence 95–96
- Özmen, Elif210
P
- Page, Denys183
- pain81
- Palatine hill 230–231
- palingenesis143
- part for whole metonymy
160, 163
- subevent for whole event161
- participatory (collaborative) culture 152–153, 172
- Parui, Avishek11
- path
- see journey
- Peil, Dietmar223
- permacrisis ix, 6, 41–49
- personification 34, 36, 78, 130, 132, 180n.
- pestilence
- see disease
- Petiot, Geneviève142
- pharmakon 99, 105
- Pharsalia (Lucan’s) 120, 236
- Pharsalus (battle of)236
- physical object 27, 52–54, 59, 84, 86, 225
- pirate120
- Pisistratids190
- (Great) Plague 11, 162–163
- Plato 24, 27n., 28n., 33–34, 111, 115
- Plautus227
- Poincaré, Henri256
- Polybius 20–38
- Pompey 230, 235–236
- post-traumatic growth71
- Pragglejaz Group75
- precipice
- see fall
- (metaphor) priming 80, 84, 86
- producing goods 157, 164–165
- proximity (or spatial closeness)
- see liminality
- psychological states are locations 81–82
Q
- Qian, Sima202
- Qing dynasty215
- Qiu, Han72
- quarantine161
R
- Rahm, Emanuel 109–110
- Rama, Edi 99–101
- reconstruction 10, 223, 232
- recovery10
- is a journey 81–83
- experiencing a r. is being in places unexplored by others81
- refuge
- see safety
- reification 25, 180n.
- religion 53–54, 62, 129, 134–136, 139–143, 147
- resemantisation104
- resilience 59, 63
- resistance63
- Rheticus, Joachim254
- Ricoeur, Paul 92–98, 102
- risk
- see danger
- Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 241–247, 249–254, 256–258
- ruins
- see collapse
- Rychlý, Pavel128
- Ryle, Gilbert97
- Russell, Bertrand 255–256
S
- sadness is down
- see bad is down
- safety 9n., 188n., 194, 234, 236, 242, 244–246, 249, 251–252, 254–256
- Salamis (battle of) 182, 197
- Saller, Richard P.228
- Sallust234
- scale (of Zeus) 180–182
- scenario (metaphor s. or allegorical s.) 54, 58, 120, 137, 138, 139, 145, 147, 151, 154, 159–160, 162–171, 190, 195, 197, 222, 224, 234, 236
- sea 183–197, 253
- see 77, 78
- Semino, Elena 85–86, 192n., 194n.
- separation 1, 6–7, 78, 112, 115, 123–124, 132, 184
- set theory 247, 254–257
- Seyang, So207
- Shao, Ying202n.
- Shen, Xu204
- Sherkovin, Yurij Aleksandrovich166
- shipwreck 8–10, 27–29, 37, 115–120, 183–197, 226, 252–254, 257
- shore
- see safety
- show business53
- Shrek 164–165
- Shun 201, 204, 214
- sifting
- see separation
- silent Spring145
- similar is close27
- Simi Raj, Merin11
- Simonides of Ceos 180, 226n.
- (The) Simpsons204
- SketchEngine 44, 127–128
- sleeping drunks 130, 140
- Solon of Athens 189–190
- Sontag, Susan 102–105, 131
- Sophocles111
- source
- see journey
- Spanish flu 12, 163
- specific for generic metonymy 5, 8, 12, 226, 233
- Spicer, André 43, 48
- SpongeBob 169–170
- states (societies, constitutions) are buildings 25–26, 31, 36, 222
- the state in crisis is a collapsing (or collapsed) building 221–222, 229
- storm
- see tempest
- subjectivization205
- Suetonius236
- supernatural force 53, 59
- Swine flu169
- syphilis epidemic (late 15th century)105
T
- tempest 6, 58, 110, 114–120, 125, 203, 212, 226
- tempest at sea
- see shipwreck
- Theognis of Megara 27n., 115, 180, 190–192
- thin ice204
- thing 76–78
- Thunberg, Greta 139–140, 142
- time for action metonymy 160, 163
- tipping point 27, 29–30, 32, 35–37, 130, 180–182, 203, 205, 209, 211, 212, 216
- trap 6, 207–209, 242, 247
- traumatic injuries
- see life-changing injuries
- trial 1, 3–4, 8, 10, 111
- trigger (in a crossbow) 206–208
- Trump, Donald60
- tsunami58
- see also natural force
- turning point
1, 6, 41, 208–209, 213
- see also tipping point
U
- uncertainty (uncertain situations) 8, 10, 178–197, 205, 212, 216, 234, 245, 257
- upright person 205, 207–209, 211–212
- utopia 132, 145, 147
V
- Vara-Miguel, Alfonso 49, 54
- Vergil235
- Verres230n.
- victory
- see competition and war
- virus
- see disease
- Vitruvius 253–254
W
- war vii, 6, 8, 10, 52–61, 63, 99–107, 129–131, 147, 157–162, 233
- Western
- invention204
- tradition 1, 4, 40, 61–66, 93–94, 106, 110, 216
- Weyl, Hermann255
- wheel
- see cycle
- Wicke, Philipp58
- Wildgen, Wolfgang10
- wind and waves
- see tempest at sea
- wise person
- see upright person
- World War II (WWII) viii, 150, 159–160
- Wuhan 158, 162, 165n.
Y
- Yao201
- Y2K (year 2000)169
- year 2012 see doomsday
- Yellow fever163
Z
- Zedong, Mao60
- Zhou dynasty 201, 202n.
- Zhu, Yang203
- Zhuangzi205
- Žižek, Slavoj244
- zombie 12n., 62, 172
