1. The Beatles
Simile pronounced: SIM-i-lee
It's been a hard day's A simile is a figure of speech that says that
night, one thing is like another different thing. We
and I've been can use similes to make descriptions more
working like a dog emphatic or
vivid
We often use the words as...as and like with something (depending on context)
similes. like a rose beautiful
like a volcano explosive
Common patterns for similes, with example
sentences, are: like garbage disgusting
like an animal inhuman
something [is*] AS adjective AS like spaghetti entangled
something like dewdrops sweet and pure
His skin was as cold as ice.
It felt as hard as rock. like golddust precious
She looked as gentle as a lamb. very untidy (tip =
like a tip
garbage dump)
something [is*] LIKE something like a dream wonderful, incredible
My love is like a red, red rose. like stars bright and beautiful
These cookies taste like garbage.
He had a temper (that was) like a [does] LIKE
meaning
volcano. something
to drink like a fish to drink a lot
something [does**] LIKE something to eat like a bird to eat very little
He eats like a pig.
He smokes like a chimney. to eat like a horse to eat a lot
They fought like cats and dogs. to eat like a pig to eat impolitely
to fight like cats
to fight fiercely
* stative verb: be, feel, smell, taste etc and dogs
** action verb to sing like an
to sing beautifully
angel
Here are some more examples of well
to sleep well and
known similes: to sleep like a log
soundly
to smoke like a to smoke heavily, all the
[is] AS adjective
meaning chimney time
AS something
to soar like an
as blind as a bat completely blind to fly high and free
eagle
as cold as ice very cold
to work like a dog to work very hard
as flat as a pancake completely flat
as gentle as a lamb very gentle Note that with the AS...AS pattern, the first
as light as a feather very light AS is sometimes suppressed, for example:
as old as the hills very old
as sharp as a knife very sharp His skin was cold as ice.
as strong as a bull very strong The above patterns of simile are the most
as white as snow pure white common, but there are others made with
as wise as an owl very wise adverbs or words such as than and as if, for
Longer list of AS...AS similes example:
[is] LIKE possible meaning He ran as fast as the wind.

2. He is larger than life. Cheaper than a hot dog with no
They ran as if for their lives. mustard - Beastie Boys
I must do what's right, as sure as
Similes can include other figures of speech. Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus
For example, "He ran like greased lightning" above the Serengeti - Toto
is a simile that includes hyperbole (greased It's been a hard day's night, and I've
lightning). been working like a dog - The
Beatles
Similes often make use of irony or sarcasm. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
In such cases they may even mean the Like a bat outta [out of] hell - Meat
opposite of the adjective used. Look at these Loaf
examples: My heart is like an open highway -
Jon Bon Jovi
His explanation was as clear as These are the seasons of emotion and
mud. (not clear at all since mud is like the winds they rise and fall - Led
opaque) Zeppelin
The film was about as interesting as Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull
watching a copy of Windows You are as subtle as a brick to the
download. (long and boring) small of my back - Taking Back
Watching the show was like Sunday
watching paint dry. (very boring)
Caution: Many similes are clichés (phrases
Similes are often found (and they sometimes that are overused and betray a lack of
originate) in poetry and other literature. original thought). You should use well know
Here are a few examples: similes with care, but it is certainly useful to
know them so that you can understand
A woman without a man is like a fish language that contains them.
without a bicycle - Irina Dunn
Dawn breaks open like a wound that id·i·om [id-ee-uhm] Show IPA
bleeds afresh - Wilfred Owen noun
Death has many times invited me: it
was like the salt invisible in the 1. an expression whose meaning is not
waves - Pablo Neruda predictable from the usual meanings of its
Guiltless forever, like a tree - Robert constituent elements, as kick the bucket or
Browning hang one's head, or from the general
Happy as pigs in mud - David
grammatical rules of a language, as the table
Eddings
How like the winter hath my absence round for the round table, and that is not a
been - William Shakespeare constituent of a larger expression of like
As idle as a painted ship upon a characteristics.
painted ocean - Samuel Taylor
Coleridge 2. a language, dialect, or style of speaking
Jubilant as a flag unfurled - Dorothy peculiar to a people.
Parker
So are you to my thoughts as food to 3. a construction or expression of one language
life - William Shakespeare whose parts correspond to elements in another
Yellow butterflies flickered along the language but whose total structure or meaning
shade like flecks of sun - William is not matched in the same way in the second
Faulkner language.
Popular songs, too, make use of simile: 4. the peculiar character or genius of a
language.
A woman needs a man like a fish
needs a bicycle - U2 5. a distinct style or character, in music, art,
etc.: the idiom of Bach.