In all discussion of metaphor , writes H. W. Fowler in Modern English Usage , it must be borne in mind that some metaphors are living , i.e. , are offered and accepted with a consciousness of their nature as substitutes for their literal equivalents , while others are dead , i.e. , have been so often used that speaker and hearer have ceased to be aware that the words used are not literal .
All metaphors are dead and are literal .