The phrase "a general metaphor" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to a metaphor that applies broadly or is not specific to a particular context.
Example: "In literature, a general metaphor can help convey complex ideas in a more relatable way."
Alternatives: "a broad metaphor" or "a universal metaphor".
On Netflix, the Robinsons join a meritocratic élite escaping Earth due to an extinction-level chunk of mass hurtling in their direction — a general metaphor for apocalyptic terror.
It conjures up a scenario of aggressive anti-corruption actions by means of VERMIN as a general metaphor source domain, with the following sub-domains: (8) CORRUPTION IS VERMIN.
There is a general metaphor that Knowing Is Seeing as in "I see what you mean".
I believe, however, that in these studies, Big Bang served more as a general metaphor than a fundamental analogy.
For many purposes, the TOL serves as a general metaphor of evolutionary relatedness, despite the fact those relationships cannot be captured by an exclusively bifurcating pattern.
The repeated and emphatic mention of "adaptive landscape", "functional landscapes", "landscapes of functional strategies" etc in this article does not refer to fitness landscape as a mathematical concept or even a concrete image but rather as a very general metaphor.
Beyond reflecting his own situation, the blur serves as a perfect general metaphor for memory, its degradation, for the Ozymandian corrosion wrought by time.
See, before it became a more general metaphor for life in the drug trade, the "trap" that trap music is named after was an actual, physical trap used to keep drug buyers from ripping you off.
The platform follows a general process metaphor with specialised modules for specific parts, i.e. it starts with defining the problem to be addressed and through a sequence of steps concludes with a proposed solution.
The general metaphor is that you can get the Internet by just getting on your telephone.
The name was a generous metaphor.
