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Simile
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A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or "as". Even though similes and metaphors are both forms of comparison, similes allow the two ideas to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas metaphors seek to equate two ideas despite their differences. For instance, a simile that compares a person with a bullet would go as follows: "John was a record-setting runner and as fast as a speeding bullet." A metaphor might read something like, "John was a record-setting runner.
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A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or "as". Even though similes and metaphors are both forms of comparison, similes allow the two ideas to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas metaphors seek to equate two ideas despite their differences. For instance, a simile that compares a person with a bullet would go as follows: "John was a record-setting runner and as fast as a speeding bullet." A metaphor might read something like, "John was a record-setting runner. That speeding bullet could zip past you without you even knowing he was there."
A mnemonic for a simile is that "a simile is similar or alike."
Similes have been widely used in literature for their expressiveness as a figure of speech:
- Curley was flopping like a fish on a line.
- The very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric.
- Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus.
Explicit similes
A simile can explicitly provide the basis of a comparison or leave this basis implicit. For instance, the following similes are implicit, leaving an audience to determine for themselves which features are being predicated of a target:
- "My dad was a mechanic by trade when he was in the Army," Raymond Thompson said. "When he got the tools out, he was like a surgeon."
More detail is present in the following similes, but it is still a matter of inference as to what features are actually predicated of the target:
- He fights like a lion.
- He swims as fast as a fish.
- He slithers like a snake.
In contrast, the following similes explicitly state the features that are predicated of each target:
- When he got the tools out, he was as precise and thorough as a surgeon.
- He drinks copiously like a fish.
- She walks as gracefully and elegantly as a cat.
- He was as a lion in the fight.
Unlike a metaphor, a simile can be as precise as the user needs it to be, to explicitly predicate a single feature of a target or to vaguely predicate an under-determined and open-ended body of features. Empirical research supports the observation that similes are more likely to be used with explicit explanations of their intended meaning ; this offers some support to the claim that similes are preferred if a user wants to associate an unusual or out-of-the-ordinary property with a target.
Stereotypes
The most commonplace similes offer a window into the stereotypes that pervade a given language and culture. For example, the following similes convey a stereotypical view of people, animals and things:
- as precise as a surgeon
- as regular as a clock
- as cunning as a fox
- as ugly as a toad
- as strong as an ox
- as sour as vinegar
- as lithe as a panther
- as quiet as a mouse
- as bumpy as a gravel road
These similes have the status of a cliché or platitude in English, and their use is typically taken to signify a lack of creative imagination.
Some stereotypical similes express viewpoints that are technically incorrect but which are widespread in a culture, such as:
- as hairy as a four footed platypus
- as cruel as a wolf
- as stubborn as a goat
- as drunk as a skunk
- as violent as a gorilla
- as slow as a sloth
- as proud as a peacock
Animal stereotypes provide a rich vein of similes in English, as does a persistent body of ethnic stereotypes.
Similes do not have to be accurate to be meaningful or useful. To be "as proud as a peacock" is "to be very proud" whether peacocks actually do exhibit pride or not. What matters is that peacocks are commonly believed to be exemplary examples of proud behaviour.
Irony
Some similes play against expectations to convey an ironic viewpoint, as in the following examples:
- as hairy as a bowling ball
- as subtle as a sledgehammer
- as straight as a round-about
- as porous as steel
- as bulletproof as a spongecake
- as cuddly as a cactus
- as charming as an eel
- as pretty as a car crash
- as smooth as sandpaper
The intended audience for such similes must sufficiently understand the concepts involved so as to appreciate that the opposite of the expected meaning is being conveyed.
Ironic similes create a humorous effect by setting up an expectation that is then incongruously dashed. Incongruity is a core concept in the understanding of humor as a cognitive mechanism.
Irony is a relatively common feature of similes that are used in web-based texts. Indeed, researchers have estimated that between 10% to 15% of explicit web-based similes (by unique type rather than by frequency) are ironic similes of the above kind
Subversive use of irony
Bona-fide similes that express a widely-held stereotypical belief can also be subverted for ironic purposes. The following explicit similes each subvert another non-ironic simile to achieve a more obvious semantic incongruity and thus a greater humorous effect.
- as balanced as an upturned pyramid
- as fast as a three-legged cheetah
Negated irony
Some similes work to undermine the trope of "playing against expectations". Such similes honor and frustrate the well-trod conventions of the form.
- as hairy as a bowling ball with a lot of hair
- as subtle as a sledgehammer nobody noticed
- as balanced as an upturned pyramid doing a handstand
- as fast as a three-legged cheetah wearing a state-of-the-art leg prosthetic
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