What (not) to eat or drink: Metaphor and metonymy of eating and drinking in Korean

This article concerns metaphorical extensions of two verbs of consumption in Korean, mek- ‘to eat’ and masi- ‘to drink’ and, to a less extent, metonymic processes built on the verb mek-. It begins with a description of the basic syntax and semantics of the two verbs with a view to understanding similarities and differences between them and also between the acts denoted by them. It also discusses the different aspects of eating and drinking with an eye to their implications for metaphorical extensions. The discussion also explains why some metaphorical extensions are possible while other seemingly plausible ones are not. The article then shifts its focus to metonymic processes based on the social/cultural significance of the act of eating.