metaphor and simile

Definition of a metaphor

1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world's a stage” (Shakespeare).

2. One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol: “Hollywood has always been an irresistible, prefabricated metaphor for the crass, the materialistic, the shallow, and the craven” (Neal Gabler). 


Examples of metaphors

Life is a journey, purposes are destinations, means are routes, difficulties are obstacles, counselors are guides, achievements are landmarks, choices are crossroads..

A lifetime is a day, death is sleep; a lifetime is a year, death is winter..

Life is a struggle, dying is losing a contest against an adversary..

Life is a precious possession, death is a loss..

Time is a thief..

Simile

 

It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog

The Beatles

A simile is a figure of speech that says that one thing is like another different thing. We can use similes to make descriptions more emphatic or vivid.
We often use the words as...as and like with similes.
Common patterns for similes, with example sentences, are:

[is] AS adjective AS something	meaning
as blind as a bat	completely blind
as cold as ice	very cold
as flat as a pancake	completely flat
as gentle as a lamb	very gentle
as light as a feather	very light
as old as the hills	very old
as sharp as a knife	very sharp
as strong as a bull	very strong
as white as snow	pure white
as wise as an owl	very wise