Figures of speech can render a piece of art with so much more appeal than a plain text, don’t you think? Similes and metaphors are simple to understand, and they make for some very interesting pieces of art. In fact, they are some of the simplest forms of literary techniques and can be easily identified in a text.
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.
What are Similes and Metaphors??
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.
List of Metaphors and Similes for Kids
List of Common Similes
~ As quiet as a mouse
~ As quick as a flash
~ As white as a sheet
~ As brown as a berry
~ As red as a beetroot
~ As black as night
~ As sick as a dog
~ To sleep like a log
~ As sick as a parrot
~ As blind as a bat
~ As alike as two peas in a pod
~ As big as an elephant
~ As black as coal
~ As bright as a button
~ As brave as a lion
~ As bold as brass
~ As busy as a bee
~ As clean as a whistle
~ As clear as crystal
~ As clear as a bell
~ As cold as ice
~ As common as dirt
~ As blue as the deepest ocean
~ As stubborn as a mule
~ As soft as silk
~ As cool as a cucumber
~ As cunning as a fox
~ As dead as the dodo
~ As deaf as a post
~ As dead as a doornail
~ As different as chalk from cheese
~ As dry as a bone
~ As drunk as a lord
~ As dull as dishwater
~ As dry as dust
~ As easy as A.B.C.
~ As flat as a pancake
~ As easy as apple-pie
~ As fresh as a daisy
~ As free as a bird
~ As gentle as a lamb
~ As hot as hell
~ As hungry as a wolf
~ As light as a feather
~ As innocent as a lamb
~ As mad as a hatter
~ As pale as death
~ As obstinate as a mule
~ As mad as a hornet
~ As old as the hills
~ As proud as a peacock
~ As poor as a church mouse
~ As quick as a wink
~ As plain as day
~ As sharp as a razor
~ As silent as the dead
~ As slippery as an eel
~ As slow as a snail
~ As smooth as silk
~ As sour as vinegar
~ As stiff as a board
~ As steady as a rock
~ As straight as an arrow
~ As strong as an ox
~ As stubborn as a mule
~ As sturdy as an oak
~ As thin as a rake
~ As timid as a rabbit
~ As sure as death and taxes
~ As tough as old boots
~ As wise as an owl
~ To drink like a fish
~ As white as snow
~ To have a memory like a sieve
~ To sleep like a log
~ To have eyes like a hawk
~ To work like a dream
~ As cute as a bug’s ear
~ As clear as mud
~ As fit as a fiddle
~ As playful as a kitten
~ As loose as a goose
~ As nutty as a fruitcake
~ As hard as nails
~ As hot as blue blazes
~ As silent as the grave
~ As smooth as glass
~ As thorny as a rose bush
~ As smooth as a baby’s bottom
~ As tight as a drum
~ As bright as the moon
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.
