Similes and Metaphors

1. Similes
&
Metaphors

2. Figurative language is used when a writer
describes something using comparisons
that go beyond literal meaning. The words
mean more than what they say on the
surface. This gives the writing a fresh look
at a common subject. Figurative language
is not meant to be interpreted in a word by
word sense. The objects that are being
compared are different in enough ways so
that their similarities, when pointed out, are
interesting, unique and/or surprising.
Figurative language is used in poetry and
fiction, as well as in everyday speech.

3. Similes
A simile is a comparison between
two unlike things that have
something in common. A simile
always uses the words like or as
to make a comparison.

4. Similes
Examples
 It's been a hard day's night, and I've been
working like a dog. - The Beatles
 My heart is like an open highway. - Jon Bon Jovi
 like two peas in a pod
 like Christmas in summer
 snow was like a blanket
 my love is like a red, red rose
 deer ran like the wind

5. Similes
More Examples
 as hungry as a bear
 as nutty as a fruitcake
 as quick as lightning
 as slippery as an eel
 as solid as a rock
 as stubborn as a mule
 as sturdy as an oak

6. Metaphors
A metaphor is a figure of speech
comparing two unlike things that
have something in common. The
comparison is made without the
use of like or as.

7. Metaphors
Examples
 Patty was a raging tiger when she lost her lunch
money.
 During the night the forest was a dark,
frightening battlefield.
 A heart of stone
 He has the heart of a lion.
 You are the sun in my sky.
 You are the light in my life.

8. Metaphors
More Examples
 Life is a mere dream, a fleeting shadow on a
cloudy day.
 Drowning in the sea
 Jumping for joy
 Rolling in dough
 Apple of my eye
 It is raining cats and dogs.

9. Simile or Metaphor
Stanley Yelnats was as nervous as a cat with
a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs
as he rode the bus to Camp Green Lake.

10. Simile

11. Simile or Metaphor
X-Ray was misnamed for he was really as
blind as a bat.

12. Simile

13. Simile or Metaphor
Squid was a wounded animal on the inside
even though he taunted Stanley about
receiving letters from, and writing to, his
mother.

14. Metaphor

15. Simile or Metaphor
Magnet’s fingers were sticky jam as he stole
Mr. Sir's sunflower seeds.

16. Metaphor

17. Simile or Metaphor
Caveman smelled like a skunk after days of
not bathing.

18. Simile

19. Simile or Metaphor
Zigzag had a heart of stone when he would
not apologize to Stanley after hitting him
in the head with a shovel.

20. Metaphor

21. Simile or Metaphor
The Warden's nails were deadly weapons
after she painted them with rattlesnake
venom.

22. Metaphor

23. Simile or Metaphor
Kate Barlow was as gentle as a lamb, while
Kissin' Kate was as tough as nails.

24. Simile

25. Practice
Number your paper from 1 to 10. For each
of the following determine if the sentence
contains a simile or metaphor. Write your
answer on your paper.

26. Simile or Metaphor
1. Sam's medicinal remedies made from
onions were pure gold to the people of
Green Lake.

27. Simile or Metaphor
2. Charles Walker thought he was a tycoon
since his family was the richest in Green
Lake.

28. Simile or Metaphor
3. Elya Yelnats' luck was poisoned meat
that he passed down for generations to
his family.

29. Simile or Metaphor
4. Madame Zeroni's rage was a curse after
Elya broke his promise to carry her to the
top of a mountain.

30. Simile or Metaphor
5. Stanley Yelnats was as happy as a rat
with a gold tooth when he reached the
summit of the thumb shaped mountain.

31. Simile or Metaphor
6. Mr. Sir was meaner than Oscar the
Grouch when he had to replace smoking
with eating sunflower seeds.

32. Simile or Metaphor
7. Mr. Pendanski's mean streak was as sure
as death and taxes.

33. Simile or Metaphor
8. Clyde Livingston's foot odor was as
deadly as a revolver.

34. Simile or Metaphor
9. Derrick Dunne was as mean as a bull
approaching a matador.

35. Simile or Metaphor
10. Mrs. Yelnats was as worried as a
surrounded bank robber.