Metaphors of Brexit (eBook)

Preface 5
Contents 7
List of Figures 11
List of Tables 12
1 Cherries on the Cake? 14
Introduction: Metaphor and Brexit 14
Reasoning Through Humour: “Having Your Cake and Eating It” 15
Contested Allegories: Sinking Ships and Getting Divorced 20
Naming Concepts—The ‘Backstop’ and the ‘Emergency Brake’ 23
Purpose and Approach 25
Critical Metaphor Analysis—Some Concepts 28
Framing and Frames 29
Allegory and Myth 31
Scenario 33
Script 34
Keywords 35
Embodied Simulation 36
Outline of Chapters 38
References 42
2 The Lexicon of the Referendum 44
Brexit Neologisms 45
Portmanteau Words and Blends: ‘Brexit’ 46
Derivation in Group Identities: ‘Brexiteer’ and ‘Remainiac’ 50
Half Rhyme: ‘Remoaners’ 53
Compound Words: ‘Independence Day’ 55
The Wording of the Ballot Paper 57
‘Stay’ or ‘Remain’ 61
‘Leave’ 65
Moral Thinking 67
Moral Intuition and Moral Reasoning in Brexit 69
Moral Foundations and the Righteous Mind 72
References 76
3 I Love My Country 77
The Patriotism and the Nation Frame 77
‘Patriotism and the Nation’ in the Discourse of Jacob Rees-Mogg 90
The Distrust and Betrayal Frame 94
‘Distrust and Betrayal’ in the Discourse of Jacob Rees-Mogg 104
Summary 109
References 113
4 ‘Take Back Control’: Invaded Nation or Sovereign Nation? 114
Introduction 114
Two Scenarios in the Referendum Campaign 117
The War and Invasion Frame and Social Identities 120
The War and Invasion Frame on Twitter 127
The ‘Sovereign Nation’ on Twitter 127
The ‘Invaded Nation’ on Twitter 130
Comparing ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ Use of the ‘Invaded Nation’ Scenario 134
Summary 143
References 146
5 Conceptual Metaphors: ‘Eurocrats Living in the Brussels Bubble’ 148
Introduction 148
Containment Metaphors 151
The ‘Game’ Conceptual Metaphor 162
Summary 168
References 170
6 The Metaphors of Boris Johnson 172
Introduction 172
Boris’s Journalistic Frames: Constraint and Embodied Simulation 179
The Allegory of Unjust Entrapment 186
Boris Johnson’s Political Frames 191
The Nation-as-Body Frame 197
Summary 202
References 207
7 Happy Families and Special Relationships 208
The Family Frame 208
Relationship Terms 213
The ‘European Family’ and the ‘Family of Nations’ 217
‘Friends’ 224
‘Enemies’ 230
‘European Partners’ and ‘European Neighbours’ 232
The Club 235
Summary 240
References 243
8 Are Marriages Made in Heaven? 244
Introduction 244
The ‘Marriage of Convenience’ Script in the Press 250
The ‘Marriage of Convenience’ Script on Twitter 257
The ‘Divorce’ Script in the Press 261
The ‘Divorce’ Script on Social Media 272
Summary 275
References 278
9 Animals: Moral Intuition and Moral Reasoning 279
Introduction 279
The Great Chain of Being and the Human-as-Animal Frame 283
Allegorical Animal Idioms 290
Allegorical Frame for Deception and Disloyalty 292
Trojan Horse 293
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing 295
‘Smell a Rat’ and ‘Rats Leaving a Sinking Ship’ 298
Reptilian Allegorical Idioms 301
Allegorical Frame for Disclosure and Non-disclosure 304
Other Allegorical Frames 306
The Animal-as-Human Frame: Cat Memes 309
References 317
10 Metaphors for Brexit 318
Introduction 318
Master Metaphors for Brexit in the Press 318
Reflections on a Master Metaphor for Brexit 325
Reference 330
Metaphor Brexicon 331
References 335
Index 339