ABSTRACT
The possibility remains that Sigmund Freud's thought could be a figurative expression, a way of talking, that might assert indirectly one or more of the commonsensical meanings. To assess whether the thought is likely to be an assertion of the kind, this chapter compares the thought with different classes of figurative expression. To the extent that the thought recurs in the same linguistic form, it could be seen to share qualities of a cliche: a trite or stereotyped phrase or expression such as "strong as an ox." Freud's thought resists interpretation at or near face value, as an assertion to be understood either literally or figuratively. Language may be used, though, in ways that are loose, rather than indirect. Some of these usages share with Freud's thought the properties that they recur and that they have somewhat obscure meanings.
