Grammar: Noun and Indirect Speech
Similes
The simile is a figure of speech that describes something by comparing or establishing its similarity to something else, using ‘like’ or ‘as’. This device makes the description more emphatic.
Similes are written in the following forms: 1. [subject] [verb] AS [adjective] AS...[noun]
The athlete was AS nimble AS a cat. 1. [subject] [verb] LIKE...[noun] This food tastes LIKE garbage.
He drives LIKE a maniac.
Here are some common examples of similes, with their meanings:
...as cool as a cucumber. Cool-headed
...as gentle as a lamb. Gentle, non-reactive
...as blind as a bat. Completely blind
...as dead as a doornail. Dead beyond a doubt
...as strong as an ox. Very strong
...as wise as an owl. Very wise ...to drink like a fish. To drink a lot
...to eat like a bird. To eat very little
...to eat like a horse. To eat a lot
...to smoke like a chimney. To smoke a lot.
...to work like a dog. To work very hard.
...to sleep like a log. To sleep soundly.
Metaphors
A metaphor is a figure of speech that uses an image, a story or a tangible example to express a quality or qualities possessed by a person or thing, or to represent a less tangible thing; e.g. Her face shone like the sun. With this broad definition, the metaphor subsumes within itself a number of other figures of speech: metonymy, synecdoche, synonym, catachresis, parable, etc. All conform to the basic framework of a figure of speech that achieves its objective by comparison, association or representation.
Let us analyze a metaphorical statement:
The school was a prison for him.
What does this mean? It obviously does mean that the school was literally a prison, for that is
The simile is a figure of speech that describes something by comparing or establishing its similarity to something else, using ‘like’ or ‘as’. This device makes the description more emphatic.
Similes are written in the following forms: 1. [subject] [verb] AS [adjective] AS...[noun]
The athlete was AS nimble AS a cat. 1. [subject] [verb] LIKE...[noun] This food tastes LIKE garbage.
He drives LIKE a maniac.
Here are some common examples of similes, with their meanings:
...as cool as a cucumber. Cool-headed
...as gentle as a lamb. Gentle, non-reactive
...as blind as a bat. Completely blind
...as dead as a doornail. Dead beyond a doubt
...as strong as an ox. Very strong
...as wise as an owl. Very wise ...to drink like a fish. To drink a lot
...to eat like a bird. To eat very little
...to eat like a horse. To eat a lot
...to smoke like a chimney. To smoke a lot.
...to work like a dog. To work very hard.
...to sleep like a log. To sleep soundly.
Metaphors
A metaphor is a figure of speech that uses an image, a story or a tangible example to express a quality or qualities possessed by a person or thing, or to represent a less tangible thing; e.g. Her face shone like the sun. With this broad definition, the metaphor subsumes within itself a number of other figures of speech: metonymy, synecdoche, synonym, catachresis, parable, etc. All conform to the basic framework of a figure of speech that achieves its objective by comparison, association or representation.
Let us analyze a metaphorical statement:
The school was a prison for him.
What does this mean? It obviously does mean that the school was literally a prison, for that is