Rhetoric lessons from ‘Star Trek’s’ Dr. McCoy
The medical officer is known for using figures of speech to express his thoughts—but his quirky analogies and other turns of phrase are often more humorous than insightful.
Figures of speech, when used correctly, add depth to our content and help us paint a descriptive picture.
When they are used incorrectly, the results can be silly and confusing—such as mangled metaphors and colorful turns of phrases.
“Star Trek’s” Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy might be a poster boy for incorrect usage.
Whether he uttered them in the original series, the classic films or the newer movies, the chief medical officer of the Enterprise peppers his language with clichés, mixed metaphors and other linguistic head-shakers.
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