Open-Ended Elaborations in Creative Metaphor - Computational Creativity Research: Towards Creative Machines - page 215

on a metaphorical view underlying these idioms, for example a view of Annoying
Item as a Pain . However, (3) shows some elaboration in that the specific notion of
a crick is introduced, and linked to the specific context-specific circumstance of the
constant turning of the managers' heads in two opposite, physical directions. These
cricks cause pain, emotional stress, difficulty in continuing such head-turning, and
dislike of continuing it. Such feelings and so forth are in the source scenario, but
I will show below how some are transferred into the target scenario (the situation
actually described) as well. This generates conclusions such as that (a) the managers,
in the target scenario, experience annoyance and other emotional stress, and (b) it is
difficult for the managers to continue the conversations.
Point (b) is an illustration of how the (moderate) creativity of an example such as
(3) rests not just in a degree of novelty but also in the way it economically conveys a
range of useful information. (3) does not just convey (a), so the sentence is richer than
if it had merely said that the managers were “getting annoyed” at their conversations.
Annoyance does not in general imply difficulty of continuing (though it may imply
reluctance to continue). However, having a crick in your neck not only causes pain
but also makes it difficult to continue turning your head, and therefore difficult to
continue the conversations.
The neck cricks begin to suggest the beneficial open-endedness of scenario elab-
orations in metaphor. The example could be further elaborated, creatively, by talking
of the managers “massaging their necks”, for instance. This can easily be under-
stood as indicating that the managers are experiencing pains in their necks. Another
elaboration would be to add a mention of pains in other parts of the managers' bod-
ies, e.g. saying “getting cricks in their necks and cramps throughout their bodies”,
emphasizing the degree of overall discomfort. There is no limit to what could be said
about what the managers are experiencing in the source scenario, with the intent of
emphasizing their discomfort, difficulties and resulting mental states and feelings.
Now consider:
(4) I don't think strings are attached. If there are any they're made of nylon. I don't see
them. 12
The speaker was an African politician being interviewed about a new investment
by China in mineral mining. He used the common metaphorical view of requirements
or constraints as attached strings. However, the being-made-of-nylon is an elaboration
in the sense that normal use of the metaphorical view does not concern itself with
what the strings are made of. The elaboration appears to be creative in being both
unusual and effective. No instance of “nylon” being used metaphorically was found
in the BNC, whether or not in conjunction with “string[s]”, and no metaphorical
instance was found in GloWbE within seven words of “string[s]”. 13 In the context of
12 From Newsnight programme on TV channel BBC2, U.K., 3 July 2007. Plausible punctuation
added.
13 A web search using Google uncovered a case of the “Ramon y Gabriela” guitar duo having a
“nylon strings attached” relationship. However, the nylon here is just a pun exploiting the nylon
composition of the guitar strings the duo used, and does not make a comment about the abstract
nature of the relationship.