Containers
Container metaphors describe an experience in terms of an inside, an outside and a boundary. Everyday examples include being "in trouble", feeling "out of place", keeping something "bottled up" and being "shut out" of a group. The same general image can suggest protection, belonging, restriction or exclusion, depending on the description.
Containment and context
A room, a box and a walled garden all have boundaries, but they offer different kinds of space and access. Likewise, being inside something is not automatically a problem, and being outside is not automatically freedom. Shelter and confinement may share an enclosed shape while describing very different experiences.
In Metaphors of Movement, the particular description matters. An open doorway is different from a sealed wall; a person inside a container is different from a person carrying one. These distinctions keep the account specific without assigning a fixed psychological meaning to every object.
Containment can overlap with obstruction, elevation and relative position. A boundary may also block a route, and a container can be above or below its surroundings. These are different aspects of the same description, rather than mutually exclusive categories.
Aesop: contents and access
In Townsend’s “The Fox and the Crane”, the crane serves a return meal in a particular vessel:
a flagon with a long narrow mouth,
Excerpt from the narrator, “The Fox and the Crane”, George Fyler Townsend translation.[1]
The crane can reach the contents while the fox cannot even taste them. Earlier, the fox used a broad, flat dish that suited the host and frustrated the long-billed guest. Both invitations offer food, but access depends on the relationship between container and eater. A full vessel need not be a usable provision. The narrator presents the second meal as repayment for the first, making the arrangement an action between characters rather than an accidental design flaw. The comparison directs attention to the opening, the means of reaching through it, and whose access the host has made possible.
Container metaphors in language
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson discuss container metaphors in Metaphors We Live By (1980). In their account, familiar experiences of bounded spaces contribute to ways of describing less tangible subjects. Examples include:
- States and activities: being "in love", "in difficulty" or "out of the running".
- Groups and participation: being "inside the organisation" or "outside the discussion".
- Contents and capacity: being "full of ideas" or having a schedule with "no room" for another task.
- Language as a container: "putting thoughts into words" or "getting meaning out of a sentence".
Literal and figurative uses can resemble one another. A person physically inside a room is literally contained; a person "in difficulty" is not inside a physical object. The wording and context establish which use is intended. "On a shelf" describes support or location and is not, by itself, an example of containment.
Further reading
- George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By, University of Chicago Press, 1980; edition with a new afterword, 2003.
- Inside and Outside: Shelter, Confinement and Belonging
Idioms Involving Containers, Containment, and Things Inside Things: A Repository of Expressions
- A can of worms: This idiom refers to a complex or difficult situation that arises when an attempt is made to solve a problem, often resulting in further complications or unexpected consequences.
- Don't put all your eggs in one basket: This expression advises against investing all one's resources or efforts into a single venture or idea, as failure could lead to significant losses.
- Open Pandora's box: This idiom refers to the act of doing something that may appear simple or harmless, but ultimately leads to a multitude of problems or unforeseen difficulties.
- Let the genie out of the bottle: This expression refers to the release or unleashing of something powerful or uncontrollable, which cannot be easily reversed or contained once set in motion.
- A closed book: This idiom describes a person or subject that is difficult to understand or decipher, as if the information were hidden within the pages of a closed book.
- Burst at the seams: This expression refers to a situation where something is so full or overcrowded that it can no longer contain its contents, often used to describe a place or event that is filled to capacity.
- Put a lid on it: This idiom is an informal way of telling someone to stop talking or making noise, suggesting that they should metaphorically contain their words or actions.
- Spill the beans: This expression refers to the act of revealing a secret or divulging previously unknown information, as if the beans had been accidentally spilled from their container.
- A barrel of laughs: This idiom describes a situation or person that is extremely amusing or entertaining, as if the laughter were contained within a barrel.
- A drop in the bucket: This expression conveys the insignificance or insufficiency of something in comparison to a larger issue or problem, suggesting that the small contribution is merely a drop contained within a much larger container.
Sources
- ↑ Aesop, “The Fox and the Crane”, Three Hundred Aesop’s Fables, translated by George Fyler Townsend, Project Gutenberg eBook 21. Accessed 26 October 2026.
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