Similes (and Metaphors)

Simile (noun): a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more vivid. 
If we drop the “as” or “like” then we get a metaphor. Here are a few similes from my latest novel (feedback welcome):
  • Harpoon rose like a surfer lifted by a growing swell and landed hard on the decking
  • The question hung like a rotting fish, and none of the sailors dared touch it.
  • Squid felt his anger rising like a king tide.
  • He seemed built as tall as he was wide, yet he could swing his compact frame through the passageways like a reef fish.
  • It was Doc, flapping her arms like an albatross during lift-off.
  • When the tapping pauses, he pounces like a car salesman, arriving with iced water and breadsticks.
  • Jutting into the Western Mediterranean like an overgrown toenail is the tiny nation of Gibraltar.
Skip to toolbar