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Are all proverbs considered metaphors or does it depend? Here are a couple of proverbs for which I would like to know if they are metaphors or just statements:

Rome wasn't built in a day.

The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley.

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Knowledge is power.

Time is money.

You can lead a horse to a water, but you can't make him drink it.

To me it looks as if they are statements about simple truths, but they only take the metaphoric meaning when taken in a different context than the one they literally explain. For example, "No great thing happens overnight" = "Rome wasn't built in a day".

Lexico defines metaphor and proverb respectively as

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

and

A short, well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice.

So, can we say that all proverbs are metaphors or are metaphors a completely different beast altogether?

EDIT: The question has been closed under the assumption that an ‘idiom’ is synonymous with ‘metaphor’? Is this an accurate valuation?

Mari-Lou A
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Michael Munta
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  • Does this answer your question? What's the difference between a proverb and an idiom? // Here, the proverb / adage "If it isn't broke, don't 'fix' it" (an idiom, which I've indicated by adding [non-standard] scare quotes, where 'try to' is obviously deleted) can be used literally as well as metaphorically (the prototypical sense of 'fix' being in the material, use-a-spanner sense). – Edwin Ashworth Dec 31 '21 at 15:33
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    The first, third, fourth, and last can be used as analogies to other situations; the others are simple statements that presumably can apply directly to what is being considered. – Henry Dec 31 '21 at 15:36
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    The second is a quotation from Burns, not a proverb as such (though it has passed into proverbial use). – Kate Bunting Dec 31 '21 at 15:56
  • A proverb may be metaphorical if its circumstances apply by analogy or not if they apply directly - that would be a "universal truth". A metaphor is usually considered to be a word or phrase: It is a metaphor if you describe Oxford as a hive of industry, or some of its inhabitants as drones, whereas a proverb tends to be a whole sentence. – Greybeard Dec 31 '21 at 16:09
  • Time Is Money is certainly a metaphor. – John Lawler Dec 31 '21 at 16:23
  • @Mari-LouA I am asking whether all proverbs are metaphors, not whether all proverbs are idioms. Difference between an idiom and proverb doesn't really apply here since idiom is not interchangeable with metaphor. Correct me if I am wrong. Why should I refocus my question on difference between an idiom and metaphor if idioms are not what I'm interested in? – Michael Munta Jan 03 '22 at 15:04
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    Yes, sorry, I got my idioms mixed up with my metaphors. Happens. I have voted to reopen in any case. – Mari-Lou A Jan 03 '22 at 15:07
  • Unfortunately, despite attracting a 2nd reppen vote (which includes mine) two users had already rejected reopening the Q before the most recent edit, and one of the persons who closed it originally confirmed their decision. Your best hope is to bump the post at the head of the queue to gain greater visibility and hope for that 3rd and last reopen vote. Good luck! – Mari-Lou A Jan 04 '22 at 04:29

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