Thursday, June 01, 2023

the ambivalent phrase "mirror image"

If someone says, "You're the mirror image of your dad," does this mean you're the opposite of your dad, or that you're the spitting image of your dad? As it turns out, the phrase is somewhat contranymic: it can mean either thing depending on context.

From Dictionary.com, here are examples of mirror image meaning "faithful reproduction":

Keep in mind that the data downloaded by an employer isn’t a mirror image of the actual Slack platform.

The mirror-image systems of communism and fascism promised to solve problems quickly through command and control.

In short, she was a nearly mirror image of her troubled daughter.

It also tells the story of my mother, a mirror image of my motherland.

And here are examples of mirror image meaning "opposite" or "reversed":

There was even one letter 'o' which appeared to be upside down, or, perhaps, a mirror image.

These he observed to be of two kinds differing in form as a right glove from a left, or as an object from its mirror image.

A contranym, also called a Janus word, is a word that has meanings that can be seen as opposites of each other. You can find lists of contranyms all over the place online, but a few of the more famous ones are:

fast (rapid): As a runner, he was fast.
fast (unmoving): My hand was stuck fast to the wall.

weather (endure): Everything else blew down, but the old rock weathered the storm.
weather (erode): The old, pitted rock had been weathered by time and nature.

sanction (permit): This was an assassination sanctioned by our government.
sanction (forbid): Trade with the pariah state was sanctioned by Congress.

Mirror image is a phrase, not a word, but it's definitely contranymic.



1 comment:

John Mac said...

I'd never really thought of these conflicts in meaning before. Upon reflection, now I can see it both ways.