Yes that makes sense, and I think I mostly agree with you. The point about metaphors is a good one, but what I would say is that often the most precise way to communicate something is through a metaphor. If the goal is to convey a mood or a feeling, there's no way to take the metaphor and make it more precise using more words, because an essential part of it is brevity. The intended effect is lost if you try to turn it into an academic paper. I think this is exactly your point, so maybe we're just using "precise" in a slightly different sense.