*Soj* /food/ is not an element of a matter or affair that can be used to
name a matter or affair, so it's not a metonym.
Thanks. I'll mark it as such. So it's a metaphor?
Maybe. A metaphor is a word (or phrase) that is used in place of
another word (or phrase), and which shares some common
characteristics with the other word, but which is unrelated to
that word. I can imagine Soj food being a metaphor
for matter, affair, concern in that food is often a
central affair in life. On the other hand, I can also imagine food
being considered a major part of many events that might deal with
important matters, making Soj a metonym. Neither
interpretation seems convincing to me.
3. Some idioms consist of only a noun phrase, like {naH jajmey}.
Wouldn't that also be a metonymy?
That's not a metonym either.
So also a metaphor?
Yes, and the imagery is explained to us.
The phrase “vegetable days” (or “fruit days,” since naH means both “vegetable” and “fruit”) refers to one’s youth, a time before reaching an age considered appropriate for marriage. The imagery is of a plant, rooted but growing, just as a Klingon youth still needs grounding (the home) for nourishment (teaching) in order to grow spiritually. [KGT]
The characteristic of being tied to a place for some kind of growth is common to both rooted plants and one's youth, but otherwise the two phrases are unrelated. That's the very definition of a metaphor.
I don't think it's an especially useful endeavor to label which words have been used metaphorically in Klingon. Idioms need explanation because the meanings of idioms can't be deduced without an external explanation, but metaphors can be understood just by recognizing the characteristics involved. If you label naH jajmey as a metaphor, what use is that to the reader?
Understanding metaphor can be useful in many areas, like poetry,
storytelling, and speech-writing. But to classify words and
phrases as metaphors does not, I think, add any meaningful
grammatical information. A metaphor arises in how you use a
phrase, not in its mere existence.
-- SuStel http://trimboli.name