Churning stomach?

[civilfawlty]

Is the use of churning to describe a swirly, anxious tummy, a metaphor? Settle a 'discussion' with my dh please! Ta

I'm not an expert but I wouldn't think it's a metaphor - just a description.

So who says it is, then - you or him?

No, just an adjective.

It's describing what the noun is doing.

Hmm. It's definitely not literal, though - stomachs don't actually churn, do they? I'd say a metaphor.

I think if you've got butterflies (which is metaphorical) your stomach quite literally feels like it's churning, it is turning over.

So adjective.

I'd say it was comparing the feeling in the stomach to the action made when churning butter. THe stomach isn;t actually moving at all, is it? (Biologists? Help?) I'd say that made it a metaphor. Not a great one, though.