Mixed Metaphors?
In real life flowers, branches, roots, etc can “wither.” In real life “Backbones” can break or crack, but they don’t wither. When you put two word pictures together that if literally true can’t go together, that’s a mixed metaphor. It’s pretentious but lazy writing that should be picked up and corrected by any editor worth his salt
mixed mate phones
Thanks. I wasn't able to figure that one out.
Mixed metaphors.