5.1 Metaphor, Idiom & Connotation

Why metaphor matters on AQL Academic Literacy

The National Benchmark Test’s Academic Literacy (AL) component does not stop at dictionary definitions. A dedicated metaphor subdomain checks whether you can read non-literal language the way university writers use it: to map one idea onto another, to evaluate a claim softly, or to package a complex process in a familiar image.

On exam day, stems often look like:

• “In this sentence, the phrase ‘…’ suggests that…”
• “The writer’s use of the word ‘…’ most nearly implies…”
• “Which reading best captures the figurative meaning of…?”

Wrong options usually offer a literal paraphrase, a dictionary sense that ignores context, or a dramatic over-reading that the passage never supports. Your job is to recover the intended figurative load while staying faithful to the surrounding argument.

Denotation vs connotation

Denotation is the relatively stable, “neutral” core meaning of a word. Connotation is the emotional, social, or evaluative colour the word carries in a given context.

Invented academic example. A sociology paragraph states: “Critics allege that the housing scheme was a ‘quick fix’ rather than a durable reform.” Denotatively, allege means “state without proof.” Connotatively, it marks the critics’ statement as unproven or contested. If an AL item asks what allege suggests about the writer’s stance toward the critics, the best answer is that the writer distances from the accusation — not that the writer agrees, and not that “allege” merely means “say.”

Metaphor: mapping one domain onto another

A metaphor treats one thing as if it were another to highlight a relationship. Academic writers rely on a short list of familiar mappings:

Invented passage fragment. “Once the pilot clinics opened, vaccine hesitancy began to bleed into neighbouring districts, forcing the provincial team to firefight rumours on social media before they could return to cold-chain logistics.”

Here, bleed into is not about blood; it maps spread from one place to another. Firefight is not about literal flames; it maps reactive crisis management. An AL question might ask what bleed into suggests about hesitancy. The strongest answer is that hesitancy spread geographically, not that clinics caused literal bleeding, and not that neighbouring districts “agreed” with the clinics.

Idiom and fixed figurative phrases

An idiom is a conventional phrase whose meaning is not the sum of its parts (on the back foot, raise the bar, in the same boat). Academic South African and international English both use idioms, though denser academic prose often prefers more transparent wording. On AQL, idioms still appear in passages about policy, education, and public health.

Recognition habit: If a literal reading sounds absurd in an academic context (“the department was on the back foot” does not mean a physical foot), switch to the conventional figurative sense (disadvantaged / defensive).

Invented example. “Extending the bursary to part-time students was a double-edged sword: enrolment rose, but tutorial groups became too large for meaningful feedback.” The phrase does not mean a literal sword. It signals mixed consequences. If options include “dangerous weapon,” “strict rule,” “mixed benefit and cost,” and “temporary solution,” choose the mixed-consequence reading.

Word play and productive ambiguity

Writers sometimes choose words that work on two levels at once — a technical sense and a figurative sense — or that invite a momentary misreading before the sentence resolves. AL items may ask which interpretation the writer intends, or what ambiguity the wording creates.

Invented example. “The committee’s ‘transparency’ report buried the most inconvenient figures in an appendix.” Buried plays between “placed deep in a document” and “concealed.” In an academic critical tone, the figurative sense of concealment is usually intended. Transparency in scare quotes may also signal irony — the report claims openness while hiding data.

Strategy on ambiguous items:

1. Try the literal reading. If it is silly or trivial, discard it.
2. Identify the source domain of the image (war, journey, body, money).
3. Map that domain onto the topic of the paragraph.
4. Prefer the option that fits the writer’s evaluative stance (approval, criticism, caution).
5. Reject options that invent details the metaphor never licences.

Connotation chains in a short stretch

Writers often stack connotative choices to build a stance without announcing “I disagree.”

Invented paragraph. “The university’s glossy brochure promises a ‘transformative student experience.’ Behind the slogan, however, first-years navigate a maze of unpaid tutoring hours and delayed stipend payments.”

• Glossy connotes surface polish rather than substance.
• Scare quotes around transformative student experience signal scepticism.
• Maze metaphors confusion and difficulty, not a pleasant campus tour.

Together, these choices imply critique of marketing versus reality. An AL stem asking for the writer’s attitude should land on sceptical or critical — not “enthusiastic endorsement” and not “neutral listing of facts only.”

Exam traps for metaphor items

Practising figurative reading with mini-passages

Work these invented stretches the way you will on AQL: underline the figurative unit, name the source image, then state the academic meaning in one plain sentence.

Mini-passage A (policy). “The new maths curriculum was sold as a bridge between township schools and university readiness. Six months later, teachers reported that the ‘bridge’ still lacked the planks of textbooks and trained mentors.”

• Source image: bridge / construction.
• Plain meaning: the curriculum was presented as a connecting pathway, but essential supporting resources were missing.
• Connotation: sold as hints at marketing; scare quotes around bridge question whether the metaphor holds.

Mini-passage B (science communication). “Online, the study’s cautious findings were stripped for parts: headlines kept the startling percentage and discarded the researchers’ caveats.”

• Source image: stripping a machine / vehicle for parts.
• Plain meaning: media reused only sensational fragments and ignored qualifications.
• AL angle: the metaphor criticises selective reuse, not literal theft of metal parts.

Mini-passage C (campus life). “For many first-generation students, the library’s silent floors felt less like a sanctuary and more like a stage where every whispered question risked an audience.”

• Dual images: sanctuary (safety) vs stage (performance / exposure).
• Plain meaning: the space felt exposing rather than protective.
• AL angle: contrast metaphors encode affect and social pressure, which may matter for inference-plus-metaphor hybrid items.

Distinguishing metaphor, simile, and personification (light touch)

AQL does not require literary-term quizzes, but labels help you talk precisely in your own notes:

• Metaphor: X is Y without like/as (corruption is a cancer).
• Simile: explicit comparison with like or as (spread like wildfire).
• Personification: non-human things given human actions (the data refuse to cooperate).

All three are non-literal. On the test, focus on meaning in context, not on naming the figure of speech unless the stem asks.

Connotation and near-synonyms in academic argument

When two options both “mean roughly the same thing,” check evaluative colour.

Invented stem pattern. The writer describes a rector’s speech as “a carefully choreographed performance.” Compared with “a well-organised presentation,” choreographed performance more strongly suggests staging and impression management. That connotative difference is often exactly what AL rewards.

Quick self-check before you bubble

1. Did I reject a silly literal reading?
2. Does my chosen sense fit the paragraph’s topic and stance?
3. Did I avoid importing drama the writer never signalled?
4. If the key word is a near-synonym choice, did I weigh connotation?

Master these habits and metaphor items stop feeling like poetry class — they become another form of precise academic reading, which is what AQL AL measures.