“Writers who are on the defensive apologize for change & mixture of metaphors as though one was as bad as the other ; the two things are in fact entirely different ; a man may change his metaphors as often as he likes ; it is for him to judge whether the result will or will not be unpleasantly florid ; but he should not ask our leave to do it ; if the result is bad, his apology will not mend matters, & if it is not bad no apology was called for. On the other hand, to mix metaphors, if the mixture is real, is an offence that should not have been apologized for, but avoided.”
H.W. Fowler, Modern English Usage
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This quote swept in on a tsunami of potential, but it ultimately floundered upon the rocky shores of confusion, flooding the plains of pointlessness and leading to the drowning of countless impoverished villagers.
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