"The leopard cannot change his spots" is just a figure of speech.

“豹子改变不了身上的斑点”是个比喻，指江山易改本性难移。

《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

Think "broken heart" is just a figure of speech? Think again.

觉得“心碎”只是一个比喻修辞说法？

youdao

Personifiation is a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.

拟人是一种为无生命或抽象物体赋予人类特质与能力的修辞手法。

youdao

But maybe my saying so is a figure of speech.

NEWYORKER: Lake Water

But Mr Cobbledick, who was formerly the boss of Miss Willis, told the court that because she was angry he took her comment to be a figure of speech.

BBC: Derby fire deaths: Mairead Philpott 'abused by her father'

She cannot speak the Ariekei tongue, but she is an indelible part of it, having long ago been made a figure of speech, a living simile in their language.

FORBES: Introducing A Science Fiction Book Club