Does Ontology Rest On A Mistake?

The usual charge against Carnap's internal/external distinction is one of `guilt by association with analytic/synthetic'. But it can be freed of this association, to become the distinction between statements made within makebelieve games and those made outside them---or, rather, a special case of it with some claim to be called the metaphorical/literal distinction. Not even Quine considers figurative speech committal, so this turns the tables somewhat. To determine our ontological commitments, we have to ferret out all traces of nonliterality in our assertions; if there is no sensible project of doing that, there is no sensible project of Quinean ontology