Simile and Metaphor

Simile
A simile is a phrase or sentence that compares one thing to another using
the words 'like' or 'as', usually to describe something that have certain
qualities in common.
Example :- He fights like a lion.

Metaphor
An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have
something important in common. A comparison between two unlike
things without using the word 'like' or 'as'
Example:-
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
(William Shakespeare, As You Like It, 2/7)

Similes for being Happy

Happy as a lark
Happy as a clam
Happy as a duck in Arizona (Negative)

Similes and Metaphor

Her heart is like gold. Her heart is gold.
The world is like a stage. The world is a stage.
He eats like a pig He is a pig.
You are like a rock You are a rock.
Your eyes are like sunshine You are my sunshine.
Poor as dirt Sea of sand.
A room without books is like a Books are the mirrors of the
body without a soul soul.
SIMILES or METAPHOR?
1. 1) She is as sweet as candy.
2. 2) My dad is a bear.
3. 3) Bob runs like a deer.
4. 4) The bar of soap was a slippery eel.
5. 5) His smile is big like the ocean.
6. 6) The willow's music is like a soprano.
7. 7) It's raining cats and dogs.
8. 8) She slept like a log.
9. 9) His paintbrush was a magic wand in his hand.
10. 10) He is as thin as a rail.
Answers:-
1,3,5,6,8 Simile
2,4,7,9,10 Metaphor
Metaphor Examples for Kids
A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison between two things
that aren't alike but do have something in common. Unlike a simile, where two things
are compared directly using like or as, a metaphor's comparison is more indirect,
usually made by stating something is something else. A metaphor is very expressive; it
is not meant to be taken literally. You may have to work a little to find the meaning in a
metaphor.
Take a look at this metaphor: the slide on the playground was a hot stove. If you
think about it you'll see that it doesn't just tell you that the slide was hot, but that it
was so hot it could burn.
Metaphors can be very helpful for kids who are learning the meaning of specific
words because they provide a more visual description of the word or thought.
Kid-Friendly Metaphors
Take a look at this list of simple metaphor examples, that are perfect for helping kids
understand this type of figure of speech. Look for the comparison being made. And
watch the video below the list to learn more about metaphors.
Animal Metaphors
 The classroom was a zoo.
 The alligator's teeth are white daggers.
 She is a peacock.
 My teacher is a dragon.
 Mary's eyes were fireflies.
 The computers at school are old dinosaurs.
 He is a night owl.
 Maria is a chicken.
 The wind was a howling wolf.
 The ballerina was a swan, gliding across the stage.
 Jamal was a pig at dinner.
 The kids were monkeys on the jungle gym.
 My dad is a road hog.
 The stormy ocean was a raging bull.
 The thunder was a mighty lion.
Nature Metaphors
 The snow is a white blanket.
 He is a shining star.
 Her long hair was a flowing golden river.
 Tom's eyes were ice as he stared at her.
 The children were flowers grown in concrete gardens.
 Kisses are the flowers of affection.
 The falling snowflakes are dancers.
 The calm lake was a mirror.
 You are my sunshine.
 The moon is a white balloon.
 Her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks.
 The road ahead was a ribbon stretching across the desert.
 Donations to the charity were a tsunami.
 The park was a lake after the rain.
 The sun is a golden ball.
 The clouds are balls of cotton.
 The lightning was fireworks in the sky.
 That lawn is a green carpet.
 The stars are sparkling diamonds.
 Ben's temper was a volcano, ready to explode.
 Those best friends are two peas in a pod.
Everyday Metaphors
 John's suggestion was just a Band-Aid for the problem.
 The cast on his broken leg was a plaster shackle.
 Laughter is the music of the soul.
 America is a melting pot.
 Her lovely voice was music to his ears.
 The world is a stage.
 My kid's room is a disaster area.
 Life is a rollercoaster.
 Their home was a prison.
 His heart is a cold iron.
 At five o'clock, the interstate is always a parking lot.
 Books are the keys to your imagination.
 Her angry words were bullets to him.
 Your brain is a computer.
 The car was a furnace in the sun.
 Thank you so much, you are an angel.
 My baseball coach is an ogre.
 He is a walking dictionary.
 My big brother is a couch potato.
 The teenager's stomach was a bottomless pit.
 I am so excited. My pulse is a race car.
 Toddlers are rug rats.

Metaphor List: 20 Metaphors and What They Mean

Everyone has used metaphors in some form or other, whether they realized it or
not. You might have described someone as having a heart of stone or ice, or you
might have claimed to have a broken heart after a bad breakup or losing a loved
one. You might have even said you had cabin fever after staying inside all winter
doing nothing much but staying warm. However, there are some metaphors that
are used that aren’t as well known, or you might have heard a metaphor used in a
way that didn’t seem to make sense to you. Here’s a list of twenty metaphors and
the meanings behind them. If you’re interested in learning more about
using metaphors, try an online course in metaphors.
1. 800 pound gorilla
The idea behind the 800 pound gorilla metaphor is that a person or organization
has enough power and strength behind it to crush any competition in its path. Two
very good examples of 800 pound gorillas are Google and Apple. With that in
mind, Steve Jobs could have also been considered an 800 pound gorilla because he
had a lot of power. If the recent movie Jobs is any indication, he used that power
and strength to remove people who had wronged him in the past.
2. A stitch in time saves nine
Everyone has put things off at one time or another, and most people believe they’re
saving time by putting those things off. However, as this metaphor explains, if you
do things on time then you won’t have so much work to do later on. Of course, this
saying doesn’t work for all situations as there are times when you actually can save
time by putting something off for a later date.
3. Chicken or the egg
Which came first – the chicken, or the egg? There is still no answer as to which
came first, and this question is now used as a way of asking questions about how
the universe may have begun. This is more of a philosophical metaphor. Learn
how to use metaphors like these in writing by taking a class on quality
paragraph writing.
4. Flogging a dead horse
Everyone has argued something to the point of exhaustion before. This is the idea
behind the statement “flogging a dead horse.” Someone has argued a point or
statement, but they still continue to batter away at the argument even if no one is
arguing back.
5. Don’t judge a book by its cover
This is a well-known metaphor used by many people. The idea behind this phrase is
to avoid judging something to be of value just by looking at the covering of it. This
can refer to people – looking at their outer beauty (or lack of) before knowing their
personality – or things. Take a blog writing workshop, and use metaphors
in your posts.
6. Elephant in the room
This phrase is used to address truths that are being ignored or left unspoken.
Usually, these truths are being left unspoken because they would bring tension,
embarrassment, or anxiety to the situation already at hand. However, there are
times when the truths being ignored should still be addressed because leaving them
unspoken is what is bringing tension, embarrassment, or anxiety.
7. Fear is a beast that feeds on attention
As a child, you likely had fears that could be unexplained. It happens to everyone:
the four-year-old afraid of the toilet, the six-year-old that can’t sleep without a
night light or blanket, or even the sixteen-year-old afraid of spiders. Many of these
fears pass on as they grow older, but some don’t. This phrase explains that fear
only grows if you give into it.
8. Left high and dry
Nearly everyone has experienced this situation at least once in their life. You feel
hopeless with no one to help you. When you find yourself with no solution or
answers to your situation, you are feeling as if you are left high and dry. This is
what the metaphor is expressing.
9. It’s raining cats and dogs
This particular metaphor has two different meanings. It is commonly used to
describe a very heavy rain. However, it has also been used to describe when
someone is going through many difficult trials in life all at the same time.
10. Jumping for joy
Most people who are “jumping for joy” aren’t actually jumping even as they say this
statement. In fact, most people use this statement by saying, “I could jump for joy!”
This phrase basically means that you’re very happy and that everything is going
your way. Some people will actually jump when they’re filled with joy.
11. Kicked the bucket
This is a slang way to say that someone has died. You usually don’t use this phrase
in serious conversation as you’re likely to get dirty looks or even a slap in the face.
However, if it’s a good friend that would understand, you can use a phrase like this.
It’s also a good phrase to use to show a person’s character when writing a
novel. Get more help writing your novel with the novel writing
workshop.
12. Late bloomer
People usually use this phrase to describe a person who is physically developing
slowly. However, there are times when it is used to describe someone who is
mentally or emotionally developing slowly as well. It is usually more accepted to
use as someone physically developing slowly, however.
13. Point of no return
You have likely done something where you passed a certain point and decided
there’s no point in turning back. All you can do is move forward. That is the
premise behind this metaphor. In any situation, there is a point in which you can’t
return to the beginning because it would just be easier to move on.
14. In a nutshell
This phrase is usually used to replace the phrase “in essence.” People using this
phrase are usually summarizing something. For example, in a nutshell this
particular blog post is about metaphors. As another example – in a nutshell, The
Lord of the Rings is about nine companions traveling through all of Middle-Earth
to take the One Ring to Mount Doom. Each of these sentences describes the
essence of what the subject – the blog post or The Lord of the Rings – is about.
15. Rolling in dough
This is usually seen as a slang way of saying that someone is insanely rich.
16. Smoking gun
Usually, this phrase is used to describe someone that is guilty by association
because they have some kind of evidence of someone else’s crime, or even their
own crime, out in view of the public eye.
17. Slippery slope
The slippery slope usually involves a number of events taking place causing one
event to be an undesirable result of those events. This particular metaphor is also
used to describe a logical fallacy. While a slippery slope in writing usually involves
a sequence of events taking place in chronological order causing the undesirable
event to result, the fallacy describes that if event A were allowed to happen then
event Z would eventually happen, therefore event A should not be permitted. There
is no way to prove that without first doing event A that event Z would definitely
occur.
18. Shooting the messenger
Usually, this metaphor involves arguing or shouting at someone who was simply
delivering a message they were given. Usually, the arguing or shouting that the
messenger receives is meant for the original sender, but the messenger ends up
receiving it instead.
19. Straw man
This metaphor is a logical fallacy that involves misrepresenting an opponent’s
argument to make it easier to attack. It can involve a person exaggerating or
fabricating a person’s argument. By doing so, they make their own position seem
more reasonable. This is a dishonest tactic usually used in politics. However, it can
also be used in personal arguments.
20. Survival of the fittest
This particular metaphor is derived from a scientific idea coined by Darwin.
Darwin’s idea of natural selection involved the stronger creature surviving
compared to the weaker creature. This stronger creature would then live on to
create more stronger creatures like it. Survival of the fittest is the phrase that was
used to describe natural selection in simpler terms.
List of Metaphors
A colorful remark
800 lb gorilla A blanket of snow was not half bad
either.

a heart of
A different tack A heart of gold
blackness

A laugh in a sea of A light in a sea of

a heart of stone
sadness. darkness.

A rainbow of A riverboat shall A stitch in time

flavors. be my horse. saves nine.

America is a
Aesopian melting pot for
Albatross
language people from all
parts of the world.

An infinite
spectrum of Apollo archetype Apple of my eye
possibilities

As gentle as a
As blind as a bat As busy as a bee
lamb

As quiet as a As slippery as an
As smart as a fox
mouse eel

As strong as an ox As wise as an owl Astroturfing

 Batten down the
Authority is a chair Bad apples excuse
hatches

Battle of egos Belling the cat Big red button

Birds of a feather Black-and-white

Bi-ja
flock together. dualism

Blind men and an

blank check: Boiling frog
elephant

Bootstrapping Brass monkey Brass ring

bread and
Broken heart Bucket brigade
circuses:

Butterfly effect By and large Cabin fever

Camel's nose Can Catch-22 (logic)

character Cherry picking

Chain reaction
assassination: (fallacy)

Chicken or the egg China Syndrome Chinese fire drill

Choices are
City on a Hill Cold feet
crossroads.

Crocodiles' teeth Crossing the

Cultural mosaic
are white daggers Rubicon

Dark/Black Horse Dead cat bounce Domino effect

Don't judge a book Drowning in the

Don
by its cover sea

Drunkard's search Dry powder Duck test

Early to bed, early

to rise, makes one Elephant in the
Enchanted loom
healthy, wealthy room
and wise.

Fear is a beast
Fatted calf that feeds on Few bad apples
attention
 Flogging a dead
Figurehead Five wisdoms
horse

For me, time is

fly like a bird Fog of war
money.

Gates of horn and

Fork in the road Four Asian Tigers
ivory

Goodnight. Sleep
Gold in the mine Gordian Knot
tight. Don

Government in the
grandfather grassroots:
sunshine:

Greek to me Green shoots grey area

He basted her with He faded off to

Ground zero flattery to get the sleep, while I was
job. still talking to him.

He had a coarse He has a heart of He has the heart

manner of speech stone. of a lion

He is all He is the shinning He is the sun of

heartbroken star of our school. my sky

Her bubbly
He swam in the He tried to help but
personality
sea of diamonds his legs were wax
cheered him up.

Her deep dark Her home was a

secret was Her hair was bone prison, I wonder,
revealed to white how does she live
everyone. there.

Her soft voice was His belt was a

Her voice is music
music to Andy's snake curling
to his ears.
ears. around his waist

His hair is a white

His head was
His Eye Is on the snowflake and his
spinning with
Sparrow hair is a messy
ideas.
haystack
 His monkey mind His silken lies
His home was a
is always full of went unheard in
prison.
new ideas. the court of law.

Honesty is the
Hobson's choice Holy Grail
best policy.

I do not like him

Hue and cry Hungry ghost because he is a
shady character.

I have been
waiting for the
sweet smell of
Ideas are water Ideas are wings
success which has
now finally
reached me.

Information travels
faster in this
I'm heartbroken. modern age as our Inverted pyramid
days start crawling
away.

Invincible It is raining cats

Iron (metaphor)
ignorance fallacy and dogs

It's going to be
clear skies from Jumping for joy Jumping the shark
now on.

Keep your eyes

Kicked the bucket Lame Duck
peeled.

Law of the
landslide victory: Late bloomer
instrument

Life has a
tendency to come
Left high and dry Life is a journey.
back and bite you
in the ass.

Life is a
Life's journey is a
Life is a mere rollercoaster which
bicycle ride down
dream every one has to
the hill
go through.
 Love is a
Light of their life Love is a bond
battlefield

Love is a captive Love is a fine

Love is a camera
animal wine

Love is a fragile
Love is a fluid in a flower opening to
Love is a garden
container the warmth of
spring

Love is a growing Love is a natural Love is a physical

garland force force

Love is a social Love is a unity of

Love is a thrill ride
superior parts

Love is an
Love is an Love is an
economic
experiment opponent
exchange

Love is like an Love is rapture/a

Love is fire
adventure high

Love is the air Love is war Mama grizzly

McNamara fallacy melting pot Mindstream

Monkey see Moral compass Mother lode

Muckraking Mudslinging Musical chairs

My memory is a
My brother was
little cloudy about No-win situation
boiling mad.
that incident.

Once your heart's Only shades of

Nutshell been broken it gray make up life
grows back bigger according to her.
As often happens with scientific and technical vocabulary, the term DNA soon broke
out of the specialized field in which it originated, and began to be seen in
newspaper articles about genetics and similarly general texts. More recently, it has
taken a further step into the mainstream by acquiring a metaphorical use.
Depending on metaphor
A character in Sarah Kane’s play 4:48 Psychosis says that “the defining feature of a
metaphor is that it’s real”. This might seem a strange paradox if we think of
metaphors as the imaginative literary flourishes we were taught to look out for in
Shakespeare.
Metaphors in mind
Mention the word ‘metaphor’ and most of us think of our favorite line from
Shakespeare or Keats. But metaphor is everywhere. We utter about six metaphors a
minute. Metaphor infuses not just the way we speak but the way we think.
Metaphor and message
We’re often told that teachers “deliver” courses or particular “units” of work. But I’m
a teacher: if I’d wanted to deliver units I’d have got a job as an IKEA driver.
For I met a metaphor
Certainly some metaphors are little more than decorative and peripheral, but others
are indispensable – sometimes less obviously so because they are deeply embedded
in our everyday language.
Game of competing truths
It’s very common for politics to be described in terms of competitive sports like
football (“Andrew Lansley scored a spectacular own goal today”) or cricket (“David
Cameron hit for six over trip cost”) or even as warfare (“Joanna
Lumley ambushed Immigration Minister Phil Woolas”) …
Dirty tricks and honest metaphors
As Diane Nicholls shows in her interesting article about the metaphors used to
convey these concepts, honesty is felt to be white, clean, straight, up, bare and open,
while dishonesty is characterised as dark, dirty, crooked, down, covered and closed.
It’s easy to get the wrong end of the stick
Contextual clues may of course put the learner on the right interpretational path,
although much vocabulary research cautions that we should not have too much faith
in the effectiveness of guessing-from-context strategies.
Metaphor can make your eyes water
For me, the most important word in Lakoff’s definition is experiencing. In much the
same way that brain scientists learn about normal brain function by studying
patients with diseased and injured brains, there is a group of people who can teach
us a great deal about the experiential dimension of conceptual metaphor that Lakoff
points up in his definition: they are people with Asperger’s syndrome …
Malfunctions, misdemeanours, metaphors
The expression mutton dressed as lamb is a rather unkind way of talking about an
older woman who dresses in a manner that’s more appropriate for someone
younger – and here this is presented as a sort of minor crime, or misdemeanour.
The bottom line on trickle-down
Picture the archetypal hard-nosed businessperson, to whom facts and figures,
statistics and sales figures, and profit and loss are the be-all and end-all. Surely
businesspeople are not concerned with the niceties and vagaries of imagery and
metaphor? Surely all they are concerned with is the bottom line?
Sport metaphors
They think it’s all over…
Why some sports contribute more metaphors to the language than others is an
interesting question. My own favourite sport is cricket (don’t all yawn at once) and it
is a fact that British English has taken more idioms from cricket than from any other
sport.
Blunt as a bag of wet mice
True, the fluid act of a footballer scoring a good goal doesn’t suggest something
painstakingly carved from stone or bronze, but Hudson makes the unlikely metaphor
work, in a way; he sees beauty and magnificent craft in the goal, and he doesn’t shy
from comparing it hyperbolically to fine art.
Metaphor definitions, lists and resources
What is a metaphor?
A metaphor is a type of comparison: when you use a word or phrase metaphorically,
you are using a meaning that has developed from the literal meaning and has some
of the same features.
Common metaphors
A list of common metaphors with example sentences.
Famous metaphors
A list of famous metaphors or famous sayings/quotes that are metaphors.
A list of metaphors
A list of metaphors relating to, for example, responsibility, emotion, knowledge and
more.
Metaphor in English – other useful links
Metaphor in Macmillan Dictionary
There are over 40 special boxes that deal with metaphor in the Macmillan English
Dictionary.
Metaphor
When new words are needed in order to describe things that did not exist before,
they are often created by means of metaphor.
What we talk about when we talk about …
A short series of articles on metaphor (love, money, illness, success & failure, words
& language, anger, friendship, honesty & dishonesty).
Metaphor and phrasal verbs
Very few languages have phrasal verbs like English, but the same conceptual
metaphors can be found in the vocabulary of other languages. In fact, some
metaphors seem to occur in nearly all languages.
Understanding phrasal verbs: is there a system?
Most of the common phrasal verb particles are – in their basic meanings – words
which describe positions in space: up, down, in, out, on and off all have literal uses
that relate to ‘spatial orientation’. Many of these concepts also have figurative uses
which are found in many languages: for example, the ideas of being ‘up’ or ‘down’
are often equated metaphorically with quantities and with power.
Sign Languages Help Us Understand the Nature of Metaphors
A recent study of the use of metaphors in spoken language and various sign
languages shows that certain types of metaphors are difficult to convey in sign
language.
This figure of speech isn’t dead – it’s just resting
By condemning the commonplace metaphor, the Plain English Campaign betrays a
lack of sensitivity to the power of everyday language
(article first published here)
Metaphor – language resources
Metaphors
Articles and lesson plans aimed at helping you approach teaching metaphors with
your students by Lindsay Clandfield.
Metaphor – video
James Geary, metaphorically speaking
Aphorism enthusiast and author James Geary waxes on a fascinating fixture of
human language: the metaphor. Friend of scribes from Aristotle to Elvis, metaphor
can subtly influence the decisions we make, Geary says.
Metaphor Examples
A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things not using the
word “like” or “as.” Metaphors can be powerful, but they can also be
tricky to identify at times. This page contains 100 metaphor
examples.
I have separated the metaphors on this page into two lists. The first list
contains metaphors that are easier to comprehend and identify. We will
call these “easy metaphors,” though they may not be easy to understand.
The second list contains fifty metaphors that are more difficult to
comprehend. We will call these “hard metaphors.” Another way to
consider this would be as a list of metaphors for kids and
adults. Without further preamble, here is the list of easy metaphors:
Metaphor Examples for Intermediate Readers
The slashes indicate line breaks.
1. The detective listened to her tales with a wooden face.
2. She was fairly certain that life was a fashion show.
3. The typical teenage boy’s room is a disaster area.
4. What storms then shook the ocean of my sleep.
5. The children were roses grown in concrete gardens, beautiful and
forlorn.
6. Kisses are the flowers of love in bloom.
7. His cotton candy words did not appeal to her taste.
8. Kathy arrived at the grocery store with an army of children.
9. Her eyes were fireflies.
10. He wanted to set sail on the ocean of love but he just wasted
away in the desert.
11. I was lost in a sea of nameless faces.
12. John’s answer to the problem was just a Band-Aid, not a
solution.
13. The cast on Michael’s broken leg was a plaster shackle.
14. Cameron always had a taste for the fruit of knowledge.
15. The promise between us was a delicate flower.
16. He’s a rolling stone, and it’s bred in the bone.
17. He pleaded for her forgiveness but Janet’s heart was cold iron.
18. She was just a trophy to Ricardo, another object to possess.
19. The path of resentment is easier to travel than the road to
forgiveness.
20. Katie’s plan to get into college was a house of cards on a
crooked table.
21. The wheels of justice turn slowly.
22. Hope shines–a pebble in the gloom.
23. She cut him down with her words.
24. The job interview was a rope ladder dropped from heaven.
25. Her hair was a flowing golden river streaming down her
shoulders.
26. The computer in the classroom was an old dinosaur.
1. Laughter is the music of the soul.
2. David is a worm for what he did to Shelia.
3. The teacher planted the seeds of wisdom.
4. Phyllis, ah, Phyllis, my life is a gray day
5. Each blade of grass was a tiny bayonet pointed firmly at our bare
feet.
6. The daggers of heat pierced through his black t-shirt.
7. Let your eyes drink up that milkshake sky.
8. The drums of time have rolled and ceased.
9. Her hope was a fragile seed.
10. When Ninja Robot Squad came on TV, the boys were glued in
their seats.
11. Words are the weapons with which we wound.
12. She let such beautiful pearls of wisdom slip from her mouth
without even knowing.
13. Scars are the roadmap to the soul.
14. The quarterback was throwing nothing but rockets and bombs
in the field.
15. We are all shadows on the wall of time.
16. My heart swelled with a sea of tears.
 17. When the teacher leaves her little realm, she breaks her wand
of power apart.
18. The Moo Cow’s tail is a piece of rope all raveled out where it
grows.
19. My dreams are flowers to which you are a bee.
20. The clouds sailed across the sky.
21. Each flame of the fire is a precious stone belonging to all who
gaze upon it.
22. And therefore I went forth with hope and fear into the wintry
forest of our life.
23. My words are chains of lead.
24. But into her face there came a flame; / I wonder could she
have been thinking the same?
Metaphor Examples for Advanced Readers
Here are fifty more challenging examples of metaphors. The slashes
indicate line breaks.
1. The light flows into the bowl of the midnight sky, violet, amber and
rose.
2. Men court not death when there are sweets still left in life to taste.
3. In capitalism, money is the life blood of society but charity is the
soul.
4. Whose world is but the trembling of a flare, / And heaven but as the
highway for a shell,
5. Fame is the fragrance of heroic deeds, / Of flowers of chivalry and
not of weeds!
6. So I sit spinning still, round this decaying form, the fine threads of
rare and subtle thought.
7. And swish of rope and ring of chain /
Are music to men who sail the main.
8. Still sits the school-house by the road, a ragged beggar sunning.
9. The child was our lone prayer to an empty sky.
10. Blind fools of fate and slaves of circumstance, / Life is a fiddler,
and we all must dance.
11. Grind the gentle spirit of our meek reviews into a powdery
foam of salt abuse.
12. Laugh a drink from the deep blue cup of sky.
13. Think now: history has many cunning passages and contrived
corridors.
14. You are now in London, that great sea whose ebb and flow at
once is deaf and loud,
15. His fine wit makes such a wound that the knife is lost in it.
16. Waves of spam emails inundated his inbox.
17. In my heart’s temple I suspend to thee these votive wreaths of
withered memory.
18. He cast a net of words in garish colours wrought to catch the
idle buzzers of the day.
19. This job is the cancer of my dreams and aspirations.
20. This song shall be thy rose, soft, fragrant, and with no thorn
left to wound thy bosom.
21. There, one whose voice was venomed melody.
22. A sweetness seems to last amid the dregs of past sorrows.
23. So in this dimmer room which we call life,
24. Life is the night with its dream-visions teeming, / Death is the
waking at day.
25. Then the lips relax their tension
and the pipe begins to slide, /
Till in little clouds of ashes,
it falls softly at his side.
26. The olden days: when thy smile to me was wine, golden wine
thy word of praise.
27. Thy tones are silver melted into sound.
28. Under us the brown earth / Ancient and strong, / The best bed
for wanderers;
29. Love is a guest that comes, unbidden, / But, having come,
asserts his right;
30. My House of Life is weather-stained with years.
31. See the sun, far off, a shriveled orange in a sky gone black;
32. Three pines strained darkly, runners in a race unseen by any.
33. But the rare herb, Forgetfulness, it hides away from me.
34. The field of cornflower yellow is a scarf at the neck of the
copper sunburned woman
35. Life: a lighted window and a closed door.
36. Some days my thoughts are just cocoons hanging from
dripping branches in the grey woods of my mind.
37. Men and women pass in the street glad of the shining sapphire
weather.
38. The swan existing is a song with an accompaniment.
39. At night the lake is a wide silence, without imagination.
40. The cherry-trees are seas of bloom and soft perfume and sweet
perfume.
41. The great gold apples of light hang from the street’s long
bough, dripping their light on the faces that drift below, on the faces
that drift and blow.
42. From its blue vase the rose of evening drops.
43. When in the mines of dark and silent thought / Sometimes I
delve and find strange fancies there,
44. The twigs were set beneath a veil of willows.
45. He clutched and hacked at ropes, at rags of sail, / Thinking that
comfort was a fairy tale,
 46. O Moon, your light is failing and you are nothing now but a
bow.
47. Life is a dream in the night, a fear among fears, / A naked
runner lost in a storm of spears.
48. This world of life is a garden ravaged.
49. And therefore I went forth, with hope and fear / Into the wintry
forest of our life;
50. My soul was a lampless sea and she was the tempest.

A metaphor is commonly known as an analogy between two objects or ideas,

described by using another word. Other figures of speech like hyperbole, simile, and
antithesis are all similar types of analogy, which also achieve their effects through
the same way. There are four specialized types of metaphors, and they are allegory,
catachresis, parable, and pun. However, broadly speaking, there are only two major
types of metaphors - extended metaphors and mixed metaphors. Extended
metaphors are those that not only claim similarity between two subjects, but also
goes forth and compares the various aspects of both subjects as well. It can be
considered as a metaphor within another metaphor. On the other hand, the mixed
metaphor involves the joint appearance of unrelated metaphors or that of a
metaphor and a simile. The following article is a compilation of most of these in the
form of a list; thus, read on.

Commonly Used Metaphors

 A heart of stone
 Reality is an enemy.
 He has the heart of a lion.
 You are the sun in my sky.
 Ideas are water.
 You are the light in my life.
 I'm dead tired.
 You had better pull your socks up.
 Drowning in the sea.
 Words are false idols.
 Jumping for joy
 Apple of my eye
 It is raining cats and dogs.
 Information travels faster in this modern age as our days start crawling away.
 Life has a tendency to come back and bite you in the ass.
 Fear is a beast that feeds on attention.
 A riverboat shall be my horse.
 A light in a sea of darkness.
 Strength and dignity are her clothing.
 Thoughts are a storm
 A laugh in a sea of sadness.
 The noise is music to my ears.
 He swam in the sea of diamonds.
 Your friendship is the picture to my frame.
 Truth is food.
 Authority is a chair, it needs legs to stand up.
 The pigeons fountained into the air.
 His hair was bone white.
 It's raining men.
 Ideas are wings.
 The sea is a hungry dog.
 He has a voice of a wolf.
 Crocodiles' teeth are white daggers.
 Fire is day, when it goes out it's night.
 Strong as an ox
 School is a gateway to adulthood.
 Leaping with laughter
Extended Metaphors
 Life is a mere dream, a fleeting shadow on a cloudy day.
 The winds were ocean waves, thrashing against the trees limbs. The gales
remained thereafter, only ceasing when the sun went down. Their waves clashed
brilliantly with the water beneath, bringing foam and dying leaves to the shore.
 He slithered into town quietly so no one would notice when he dug his fangs in and
slowly poisoned their minds.
 The teacher descended upon the exams, sank his talons into their pages, ripped the
answers to shreds, and then, perching in his chair, began to digest.
 The silence was a blood-curdling scream of anguish, set out to break my soul.
 Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune, without the words,
And never stops at all.
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm,
That could abash the little bird,
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
- Emily Dickinson
Metaphors About Love
 Love is a growing garland.
 She is bewitching.
 Love is A Thrill Ride.
 I'm Heartbroken.
 We are one.
 Love is a fragile flower opening to the warmth of spring.
 That kindled love in his heart.
 We'll just have to go our separate ways.
 Love is a camera, full of memories.
 He was consumed by love.
 Theirs is a perfect match.
 I don't think this relationship is going anywhere.
 Love is a lemon - either bitter of sweet.
 It's been a long, bumpy road.
 Our marriage is on the rocks.
 Love is an experiment.
 My heart's on fire.
 She is his latest flame.
 I don't want to get burned again.
 Love is in the air.
 We were made for each other.
 She is my better half.
 I am charmed by her.
Metaphors in Rap
 "My rep grows like the nose of Pinocchio, Just because I've mastered the art of
braggadocio."
 "Coming from the deep black like the Loch Ness, now bring apocalypse like the
Heart of Darkness."
 "Holding my raps, Olden is golden and black, extolling virtues of rap, with monkeys
riding my back."
 "Phased from your original plan, you deviated, I alleviated the pain, with a long-term
goal."
 "Claiming that you've got a new style, your attempts are futile, oooh child, your
puerile brain waves are sterile."
 "I gaze into the sky and measure planets by parallax, check out the retrograde
motion."
 "Like Slick Rick the Ruler I'm cooler than a ice brick, got soul like those afro picks,
with the black fist, and leave a crowd dripping like John the Baptist."
 "Wes Jackson had the vision, and brought it to fruition with a little hard work,
perseverance and intuition."
With such a wide variety of examples displayed here, I am sure you must have
come across a few metaphors used by you. Metaphors are fun to use, provided you
make the right comparisons. So have fun being creative with them.

Making the Distinction

Similes will use words like 'as', 'like', and 'than'; whereas metaphors will use words
like 'was', 'is' and 'were'.
The work gains angles and dimensions, you start to look beyond the obvious and a
superlative form of art begins to draw itself, to say the least. And while there are
several such figures of speech that can be looked into, in this particular article, we
will focus on two literary devices―Similes and Metaphors.

A list of similes and metaphors will help you identify the same and you will
understand what it means to have these play in your text. In this following
Penlighten article, we will provide you with a list of the same for easy reference and
understanding. But before that, let us understand what similes and metaphors are.
Similes
A simile is a literary technique that is used to compare two concepts. These
concepts might be completely different in all aspects, but when they are being
compared, there is that one distinct concept that draws a similarity between them.
The comparison is usually carried through with words like As, Like and Than. A
characteristic style of the usage of similes is that the two objects that are being
compared remain different in all matters and the reader has no doubt about the
same.

Example of Simile

John's words felt like shards of glass when he spoke such hateful things.

Explanation

In the example given above, in case of a simile, John's words are compared to
shards of glass, which means that just as the shards of glass would lead to
immense hurt, similarly, his words are just as hurtful and cause for as much hurt.
Metaphors
Metaphors and similes have a common theme running, whereby they compare two
very different concepts, or concepts that are not connected in either way to each
other. The difference is that metaphors do not keep the concepts at differing levels
but merge them into one and thereby draw similarities―considering, in fact, that
they are one.

Example of Metaphor
John's words were shards of glass when he spoke such hateful things.
Explanation
In case of this example, the hurt caused by John's words is not 'compared' to shards
of glass, but takes on the exact quality of glass and causes for the hurt in that way.
~ As brave as a lion
~ As bold as brass
List of Common Similes ~ As busy as a bee
~ As quiet as a mouse ~ As clean as a whistle
~ As quick as a flash ~ As clear as crystal
~ As white as a sheet ~ As clear as a bell
~ As brown as a berry ~ As cold as ice
~ As red as a beetroot ~ As common as dirt
~ As black as night ~ As blue as the deepest ocean
~ As sick as a dog ~ As stubborn as a mule
~ To sleep like a log ~ As soft as silk
~ As sick as a parrot ~ As cool as a cucumber
~ As blind as a bat ~ As cunning as a fox
~ As alike as two peas in a pod ~ As dead as the dodo
~ As deaf as a post
~ As big as an elephant ~ As dead as a doornail
~ As black as coal ~ As different as chalk from cheese
~ As bright as a button ~ As dry as a bone
 ~ As drunk as a lord ~ As straight as an arrow
~ As dull as dishwater ~ As strong as an ox
~ As dry as dust ~ As stubborn as a mule
~ As easy as A.B.C. ~ As sturdy as an oak
~ As flat as a pancake ~ As thin as a rake
~ As easy as apple-pie ~ As timid as a rabbit
~ As fresh as a daisy ~ As sure as death and taxes
~ As free as a bird ~ As tough as old boots
~ As gentle as a lamb ~ As wise as an owl
~ As hot as hell ~ To drink like a fish
~ As hungry as a wolf ~ As white as snow
~ As light as a feather ~ To have a memory like a sieve
~ As innocent as a lamb ~ To sleep like a log
~ As mad as a hatter ~ To have eyes like a hawk
~ As pale as death ~ To work like a dream
~ As obstinate as a mule ~ As cute as a bug's ear
~ As mad as a hornet ~ As clear as mud
~ As old as the hills ~ As fit as a fiddle
~ As proud as a peacock ~ As playful as a kitten
~ As poor as a church mouse ~ As loose as a goose
~ As quick as a wink ~ As nutty as a fruitcake
~ As plain as day ~ As hard as nails
~ As sharp as a razor ~ As hot as blue blazes
~ As silent as the dead ~ As silent as the grave
~ As slippery as an eel ~ As smooth as glass
~ As slow as a snail ~ As thorny as a rose bush
~ As smooth as silk ~ As smooth as a baby's bottom
~ As sour as vinegar ~ As tight as a drum
~ As stiff as a board ~ As bright as the moon
~ As steady as a rock
List of Metaphors
~ A laugh in a sea of sadness
~ He has a voice of a crow
~ He has a voice of a wolf
~ He has the heart of a lion
~ He is the sun of my sky
~ He swam in the sea of diamonds
~ He tried to help but his legs were rubber
~ Her hair was bone white
~ Her lips were butterflies
~ Her positive attitude is a lighthouse for the hopeful
~ His belt was a snake curling around his waist
~ His plans were rock solid and so were his aims
~ Ideas are wings
~ It's raining men
~ Life is a mere dream, a fleeting shadow on a cloudy day
~ Light of their life
 ~ Love is fire
~ She is a dog when she eats
~ Spiritual seeking is treasure hunting
~ Thoughts are a storm, unexpected
~ Truth is food for him
~ You are the light in my life
~ They were eaten up with hatred
~ Mistrust had poisoned their relationship
~ I've been caught between a rock and a hard place
~ The weeks crawled by until we could meet again
~ Anger bottled up inside her
~ His words were cotton candy
~ He was a lion on the battlefield
~ The computers at school are old dinosaurs
~ The ballerina was a swan, gliding across the stage
~ The stars are sparkling diamonds
~ My big brother is a couch potato
~ They had entered their autumn years
~ Her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks
When you study literature and other works of art in more detail, you'll find that the
author or writer uses these figures of speech with more subtlety, or even grandeur.
The levels of comparison also get more and more sophisticated, and that is where
the beauty of the text lies. Similes and metaphors lend texts several layers of depth
and make any work a pleasure to read.

Among the most common metaphors are those that refer to our senses of touch,
taste, sight, hearing and smell. As you'll see in this list, many of our stock phrases
are actually metaphor. And it does not stop with our personal sensory experience
either - machines have sensory devices as well, with many parts named according
to metaphors reflective of the human sensory experience, such as "electric eye" or
"feelers".
Temperature (touch)
 Hunka' hunka' burnin' love.
 An old flame.
 There's a fire in my heart and you fan it, Janet.
 Boiling mad.
 A feverish pace.
 I'm so hot for her and she's so cold.
 Heated debate.
 A warm reception.
 A tepid speech.
 Chill out !!
 Cool !
 You're as cold as ice. ("as ice", however, is not a metaphor in this example)
 An icy stare. (Submitted and demonstrated via phone by Barbara Casnig ! :D)
 Frozen with fear.
 The news inflamed her temper.
  They were kindling a new romance.
 Dentyne Fire; Dentyne Ice. (Chewing gum flavors with metaphors for names).
 That is a hot curry.
Texture (touch)
 That has been very hard to do.
 Her soft voice was music to his ears.
 The author's gritty style.
 His silken lies went unheard.
 Things are going smoothly.
 Her bubbly personality.
 He had a coarse manner of speech.
 Her voice is beginning to grate on me.
 I hear you're feeling rough!
 The velvet voice of Bing Crosby.
 His speech was peppered with vitriol.
 A painful lesson in life.
 He was being pressured to decide.
Light (sight)
 When you're feelin' blue.
 You light up my life.
 The blackest thoughts of men.
 Only shades of grey.
 A colorful remark.
 Deep dark secret.
 A rainbow of flavors.
 An infinite spectrum of possibilities.
 A brilliant idea!
 A bright idea.
 A dim view.
 He faded off to sleep.
 I fail to see your logic.
 Blinking lights.
 My memory is a little cloudy.
 Plans are still a little hazy.
 Deep, dark thoughts.
 The light of reason.
 A shining example of democracy.
 A beacon for fellow workers.
 A glowing review.
 A shady character.
Taste (and mouth)
 Ain't she sweet.
 Bitter? Yeah, I bitter - bit him too!
 Bittersweet memories.
 End on a sour note.
 You have great taste in furniture!
 His words had a little bite to them.
  You've given me something to chew on!
 He found her behavior unpalatable.
 Give me a little sugar, honey!
 A spicy new outfit.
 Her presentation was a little bland.
 "We do vanilla" (Roger James, a Kingston musician)
Smell
 Love stinks!
 The sweet smell of success.
 The stench of failure.
 That man reeks of infidelity!
Sound (hearing)
 The world is listening.
 Her words rang true.
 The words were music to his ears.
 The high note of the evening.
 She thundered into the room.
 An outfit that screams "I am cool!"
How to Use Common Metaphors and Similes

Metaphors and similes are both what's called figurative language, or figures of
speech. Metaphors and similes are literary devices used to compare one thing to
another. They add understanding, dimension, and vividness to writing.
Metaphors say straight up that one thing is another ("love is a flame"), deeply
connecting one to the other. Similes compare one thing to another using the word
"like" or "as" ("slower than molasses in January), and often are colorful sayings that
are indigenous to certain regions of the country. The South is known for its
abundance of memorable similes.
Metaphors and similes also cut to the chase and say a lot in a few words. For
example, rather than saying "Bob is Jane's old boyfriend; they were very tight for a
while, and I'm not quite sure whether there's still an attraction there," you can use
the metaphor "Bob is Jane's old flame." An old flame, of course, is an old love that
may or may not still burn hot.
Metaphors and similes are used extensively in poetry. They are also a basic tool
used in most forms of fiction writing. By comparing one thing to another, the writer
can evoke a mood or memory, help the reader to make connections, establish a
theme, and add interest and color to the writing. These descriptions of a sunset
evoke completely different responses:
 No metaphor or simile: The sun was setting. The sky turned red. Then
darkness fell.
 Both metaphor and simile: The sunset was like a glorious conflagration,
blazing with fabulous colors but producing no warmth.
 Metaphor: The sun dipped below the horizon, the last gasp of beauty before
the death of the day.
Metaphors and Similes in Everyday Speech
While many writers use figurative language in descriptions, it can be equally
effective to put metaphorical language into characters' dialogue. Metaphors and
similes are regularly used in the language people use to talk to each other, so
characters need not be poets to believably use figurative language. Some
metaphors and similes are used so frequently they are sometimes categorized as
cliches. Some examples:
 Fit as a fiddle
 Happy as a clam
 She is an old flame
 Dull as dishwater
 Sharp as a tack
 Silent as the grave
 Time is money
 He is a pig
 You are my sunshine
Using Common Metaphors and Similes in Your Fiction
It is certainly easy to add metaphors and similes to fiction, and it's very often a good
idea. But when and how you should use this language to the best effect is a
question well worth asking. A cliched or mixed metaphor can sink a perfectly good
story.
Abandon: The team decided to abandon the project.
Aged: This joke is aging quickly.
Agenda: They carried out their agenda.
Aim: Condoleezza Rice launched a diplomatic effort aimed at ending the war.
Airhead: Don’t be such an airhead!
Anarchy: It’s anarchy on the freeway today!
Appetite: Children have an enormous appetite for learning.
Apple: Apple of my eye
Atmosphere: The atmosphere was highly charged.
Attack: She attacked his character.
Autumn: They had entered their autumn years.

Bait: He was trying to bait her into debate.

Bake: It was a half-baked idea.
Barren: His face was a barren landscape of sorrow, parted by rivers of tears.
Base: A play based on a poorly written book by Gaston.
Baste: He basted her with flattery to get the job.
Battle: Life is a constant battle.
Battlefield: Love is a battlefield.
Battleground: The senate has become the battleground for stem cell lobbyists.
Beacon: A beacon for fellow workers.
Bear Fruit: Alice was thrilled when her idea began to bear fruit.
Beast: Fear is a beast that feeds on attention
Being: The point being.
Benchmark: The benchmark 30-year T-bill.
Beseiged: She was besieged by the papparazzi.
Binding: A legally binding contract.
Bite: His words had a little bite to them.
Bittersweet: Bittersweet memories.
Blackest: The blackest thoughts of men.
Bland: Her presentation was a little bland.
Blanket: A blanket of snow fell through the night.
Blizzard: There was a blizzard of activity at the emergency room.
Blockade: The Senator’s attempt to blockade the vote was seen was seen as a feeble
attempt to raise his profile.
Blossom/Bloom: She had blossomed overnight, going from stinkweed to rose with
but one sip of potion.
Blow: You’ll be blown away!
Blue: When you’re feelin’ blue.
Boil: The boss was boiling mad.
Boiling: Boiling mad.
Boiling: Boiling landscape.
Bombard: He was bombarded with questions.
Bombshell: She was hit by the bombshell that her boyfriend was married.
Bombshell: Blond bombshell
Bond: They had a spiritual bond between them.
Bottom: The teacher got to the bottom of the problem.
Bottom Feeder: He’s nothing but a bottom feeding letch!
Boundaries: Sports rules set the boundaries of fair play.
Bowels: In the bowels of the ship.
Brand: The band bleated out their own brand of country music.
Breaking: Breaking news.
Breeze: This homework is a breeze.
Brick Wall: He was hitting his head against a brick wall.
Bright: A bright idea.
Brilliant: A brilliant idea!
Bubbles: Her bubbly personality.
Bucking: Bucking for a raise.
Bud: Their relationship had begun to bud again, after a long and desolate winter.
Bumper Crop: A bumper crop of stories have sprouted from this news leak.
Burnt: Burned by a shady deal.
Bursting: Bursting with flavor!

Cage: His mind was caged by depression.

Campaign: She led the campaign for student housing.
Catch: Did you catch the big game on Tuesday?
Catch: She’s quite a catch!
Cats & Dogs: It is raining cats and dogs
Ceasefire: The couple agreed to a ceasefire over whose family they would visit for
Thanksgiving.
Chew: You’ve given me something to chew on!
Chilly: It’s been a little chilly around the office since Mr.
Choose: An electron chooses the path of least resistance.
Clam: The suspect clammed up when the police began to ask him questions.
Clear Skies: It’s gonna’ be clear skies from now on.
Cloud: The event was clouded over by protests.
Cloudy: My memory is a little cloudy.
Coarse: He had a coarse manner of speech.
Cold: A cold reception.
Collide: Their philosophies would eventually collide.
Colorful: A colorful remark.
Come Up: We’ll see if any new job listings come up.
Comfort: I’m comfortable with my decision.
Cook: He knew he was cooked when he saw his boss standing at the desk.
Crop: A new crop of students entered the classroom.
Crossfire: He was caught in the crossfire of his friends’ disagreement.

Darken: The skies of his future began to darken.

Dawn: The dawn of civilization.
Dead: I’m dead tired
Deep: Deep despair.
Defense: Your claims are indefensible.
Demolish: I demolished his argument.
Depth: Deep thoughts.
Determine: The clouds are just determined to ruin our picnic!
Diamond In The Rough: That gymnast is a diamond in the rough.
Digest: Take a moment to digest the info.
Dim: A dim view.
Direction: She sought a new direction in her life.
Dish: Dish out more criticism than one can take.
Division: Cell division.
Doorway: Your browser is your doorway to the internet.
Drift: He was a drifter, of origin unknown.
Dry Spell: Business suffered a long dry spell.
Dud: His hot date turned out to be a dud.
Dying: I’m dying to meet her.

Edge: She had returned from the edge of death.

Embark: They were about to embark on a journey of the soul.
Energy: There was an energy about them.
Exist, Existing: Such attitudes exist, but are becoming rare.

Faded: He faded off to sleep.

Farm: Adam joined the Boston Celtics farm team.
Fast Lane: Life in the fast lane.
Fertile: He has a fertile imagination.
Fever: A feverish pace.
Fire: There’s a fire in my heart and you fan it.
Firestorm: There was a firestorm of controversy surrounding the president’s
statements.
Fish: There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
Fish: The con artist managed to fish in another victim, hook, line and sinker.
Flame: I was flamed on a message board.
Flame: His old flame contacted him hoping to rekindle their romance.
Flank: The senator received universal criticism from both flanks, Republican and
Democratic alike.
Flight: The business was about to take flight.
Flower: She was a flower, young and beautiful, bending gently in the ever changing
winds of youth.
Fog: My memory is a little foggy.
Food: Food for thought.
Footsteps: She followed in her mothers’ footsteps.
Foxhole: After the vote the senator headed for its foxholes, afraid of the result
voting against his constituency would have.
freedom: Freedom of expression.
Front lines: The organization works at the front lines of the war on drugs.
Frozen: Frozen with fear.
Fruit: His ideas began to bear fruit.
Fry: She knew she was fried when the teacher handed back her paper.

Gateway: Education is a gateway to success.

Glow: A glowing review.
Grandfather: The rights on the property were grandfathered to the new owner.
Grate: Her voice is beginning to grate on me.
Gravity: The gravity of the matter drew his undivided interest.
green: That new worker is pretty green.
Grey: Only shades of grey.
Grey skies: Grey skies are gonna’ clear up!
Grill: The lawyer grilled the witness on the stand.
Grit: The author’s gritty style.
Grow/growth: The markets experienced considerable growth until plagued by
profiteering.
Gust: Criticism began to gust in from all sides.

Hail: A hail of bullets.

Harnessed: To harness the power of the sun.
Harvest: She decided to harvest her investment a few weeks early.
Hatch: Helen and Maria hatched a plan to help Maria become president of her
class.
Hazy: Plans are still a little hazy.
Heat: Heated debate.
Height: The height of one’s career.
Hook: The teen spent two years in rehab, after having been hooked on phonics as a
child.
Hook: The song “Who Let The Dogs Out” had a successful hook.
Horse: A riverboat shall be my horse
Hot: I’m so hot for her.
Hub: The CPU is the central hub of the computer.

Icy: An icy stare.

Idols: Words are false idols
Infant: The Iraq democracy is in its infancy.

Join the ranks: Clinton decided to join the ranks of foreign policy critics.
Kindle: They were kindling a new romance.

Land: The salesman tried to land a contract with the client.

Launch: Condoleezza Rice launched a diplomatic effort aimed at ending the war.
Light: You light up my life.
Light: The light of reason.
Light: The classmates had a light conversation.
Lightening rod: He became a lightening rod for party criticism.
Lion: He has the heart of a lion
Listen: The world is listening.
Lure: The crier managed to lure in several new customers from off the street.

Market: He began to market himself as an author.

Misty: Misty, water-coloured memories.
Mother: Necessity is the mother of invention.
motion: Ideas in motion.
move, moving, movement: A moving speech.
Mull: She began to mull it over in her mind.
Music: The words were music to his ears.

Net: The police finally netted a bank robber after an intense search.
No-man’s land: Party moderates found themselves in a political no-man’s-land,
with pro and con members battling around them.
Note: Leaving her house was the high note of the evening.

Net: The police finally netted a bank robber after an intense search.
No-man’s land: Party moderates found themselves in a political no-man’s-land,
with pro and con members battling around them.
Note: Leaving her house was the high note of the evening.

Palate: He found her behavior unpalatable.

Path: Following the path of enlightenment.
Peel: Keep your eyes peeled.
Pepper: His speech was peppered with vitriol.
Pick: Pick from our wide selection of clothing styles!
Pickle: That’s a real pickle of a problem.
Place: She had a special place in his heart.
Plant: The orator planted ideas in their fertile, young minds.
Plate: My plate is already too full.
platform: Political platform.
Plow/plough: We decided to plow through the bookkeeping.
Point: He had finally come to the point of conclusion.
position: One’s position on a political issue.
Powder keg: The court’s decision is sure to set off a powder keg of dissent among
defense supporters.
Power: You’ve got the power!
Rain: Into each life some rain must fall.
Rainbow: A rainbow of flavors.
Raw: She had a raw talent for music.
Recipe: A recipe for disaster.
Reek: That man reeks of infidelity!
Reel in: The con artist managed to reel in another victim.
Ring: Her words rang true.
Ripe: He allowed the moment to ripen before asking for her hand in marriage.
Road: On the road to peace.
Roast: A celebrity roast.
rock: The guy is a rock.
Room: A child needs room to grow.
Roots: His roots ran deep in the region.
Rough: I hear you’re feeling rough!

Salvo: The opposition’s speech was the opening salvo of an attack on foreign policy.
Scream: Her outfit screamed “Help me, I lack taste!”
Sea: Drowning in the sea of ideas.
Season: It is the season of change.
secreted: He secreted the fact that he was a Republican.
See: I fail to see your logic.
Seed: The doctor explained that her insides were a rocky place, where my seed
could find no purchase.
Serve: Served up a number of suggestions.
Shade: A shady character.
Shell: He had become a shell of a man.
Shining: A shining example of democracy.
Shoot: He shot down all of my arguments.
Shower: He showered her with gifts.
Silk: His silken lies went unheard.
Simmer: The crowd began to simmer down.
Singe: Feel the singe of rejection.
Sister: The company had a sister factory in Trenton.
Smooth: Things are going smoothly.
Snag: The project hit a snag and was put on hold.
Soft: Her soft voice was music to his ears.
Soil: The soil of a man’s heart is stonier!
Sour: End on a sour note.
Sow: He sowed the seeds of discontent among the staff.
Spectrum: An infinite spectrum of possibilities.
Spicy: A spicy new outfit.
Spinning: His head was spinning with excitement.
Spotlight: Mary stole the spotlight with her performance.
Sprout: After the phone call, a smile could be seen sprouting from the edges of his
lips.
stable, stability: A stable economy.
steady: A steady rhythm.
steer: Steer clear of that topic.
Stench: The stench of failure.
Stew: The decision had him in a stew.
Stink: Love stinks!
Stir: Stirring up all kinds of emotions.
Stone: A heart of stone
Storm: She was unsure if her proposal could weather the storm of scrutiny.
Storm: Thoughts are a storm.
stubborn: Stubborn stains!
Sugar: Give me a little sugar, honey!
Sun: You are the sun in my sky
Sunset: He’d entered his sunset years.
Sunshine: You are the sunshine of my life.
Swallow: Difficult to swallow.
Sweet: Ain’t she sweet.
Sweet: The sweet smell of success.

Target: His criticisms were right on target.

Taste: You have great taste in furniture!
Tasty: Tasty tidbits of information.
Tepid: A tepid speech.
Thaw: Relations between the two countries began to thaw.
Thunder: The boss thundered into the room.
Time Bomb: The new policy is considered a political time bomb for the
conservative government.
Toast: He knew he was going to be toast when he got home.
transition: A transitional government is in effect.
travel: We’ll travel down that road (of conversation) another time.
Troops: Greenpeace called in the troops to protest the whale hunt.
Truce: The neighbors agreed to a truce over their barbeque dispute.
Twilight: He entered his twilight years a broken man.

Under fire: The president has been under fire for his veto of the stem cell bill.

Velvet: The velvet voice of Bing Crosby.

War zone: The courtroom had become a war zone.

Warm: A warm reception.
Water: Ideas are water
Weather: His face was weathered by a long, troubled life.
Weighty: A weighty subject.
Whirlwind: It was a whirlwind romance that spun out of control.
Win: I’ve never won an argument with him.
Wind: The winds of change.
Window: Tolerance is the window to peace.
Winter: She entered a spiritual winter.
Wrapped: The detective had wrapped up the mystery.
A list of metaphors
Metaphors about responsibility
I have to bear the responsibility for this.
The responsibility was weighing on my mind.
I don’t want to be a burden to you.
Metaphors that are idioms
Spill the beans.
Give someone a hand.
Metaphors about relationships
I was very attached to him.
She has split up with her boyfriend.
They greeted us warmly.
It was a very stormy relationship.
Metaphors about emotion
The news has hit him hard.
It had a huge impact on them.
He has a fiery temper.
The book was received warmly.
I felt a chill of fear.
She treated us with cool indifference.
The future looks very bright.
The news lifted her spirits.
There’s no point in having these dark thoughts.
They were eaten up with hatred.
Mistrust had poisoned their relationship.
Metaphors about thought and knowledge
A few doubts remained at the back of my mind.
The thought crossed her mind that he was lying.
I don’t want to put any ideas into your head.
I had already planted the idea in her mind.
It was a carefully constructed theory.
Let me know if you dig up anything about him.
I see what you mean.
They recognized the fact that they needed to improve.
We want to get a range of different views.
He kept us in the dark about his plans.
Metaphors about place and position
We are in a situation where there are no real winners.
They found themselves in a very difficult position.
I’ve been caught between a rock and a hard place.
This is a potential minefield for beginners.
You’ve lost me. What do you mean?
I really think you’re barking up the wrong tree.
I found out I’d been taken for a ride.
They met on a rainy day in January.
He lay awake all through the night.
This week’s gone so fast.
One day, in the distant future, I might go and live abroad.
The weeks crawled by until we could meet again.
She didn’t notice the time slipping by.
Metaphors about journeys and travelling
The baby arrived just after midnight.
They remembered the departed in their prayers.
His life took an unexpected direction.
What’s the best way of doing it?
I’ve tried being reasonable, and I don’t want to go down that roadagain.
I haven’t yet reached my goal.
I’d like to return to what David was saying earlier.
He always says things in a roundabout way.
The conversation drifted towards the subject of money.
This term, we will be exploring the psychology of sport.
It is an excellent guide to English vocabulary.
For more information, visit our website.
Metaphors about up and down
This is an area of high unemployment.
They had raised their prices to unreasonable levels.
The temperature had been falling steadily all day.
There was a collapse in the price of oil.
It is the true story of a millionaire’s meteoric rise from poverty.
They were downtrodden and oppressed.
She had never wanted to climb the greasy pole of politics.
They look down on everyone who isn’t as rich as they are.
They regarded tradesmen as their inferiors.
I felt as high as a kite.
They seem very down about it all.