Elliptical metaphors are less studied than complete metaphors. This is also the impetus to consider some features of elliptical metaphors. The subject of the article are the elliptical metaphors, the essence of which is clarified in comparison with the so-called complete metaphors. Metaphors are elliptical in which one of the terms of the metaphor is not expressed: compared, comparative or core (heart, common denominator). A distinction is made between a metaphor and a metaphorical element. Clarification of the elliptical metaphors is based on material from the Bulgarian fiction.