
I love similes. They say more in 5-10 words than a whole paragraph. They are like spice to a stew, or perfume to an evening out. They evoke images far beyond the range of words.
Simile–the comparison of two unlike things using the word ‘like’ or ‘as’. As bald as a newborn babe. As blind as a bat. As white as snow.
Wait–no self-respecting writer would use those. Similes are as much about displaying the writer’s facility with her/his craft as communicating. We are challenged to come up with new comparisons no one has heard before. I’ve seen contests on writer’s blogs for similes and most leave me bored, if not disgusted. It’s harder than it looks to create a simile that works. Look at these I found on G+:
- #1 – Being with him was like sitting through a Twilight Marathon, all sparkles and self-loathing.
- #2 – She was as nervous as my guinea pig, Mittens, when we turned him loose in the hog-stall last winter. Soon we found out that he wasn’t THAT sort of a pig .
- #3 – The snow fell like billions of breadcrumbs, promising a flurry of activity and a huge pile of shit in the aftermath .
- #4 – Her eyes were as blue as the ink in my pen, that trickled its life’s blood gently down the front of my pocket, as I tried in vain to get her attention..
- #5 – His hair soared in the wind like a captive egret, finally released into the wild. Not a minute had passed before a passerby made a joke about “if it was truly yours, it’ll come back to you…” He punched that person.
OK, there’s one more rule about similes: Make them concise. If you look at the tried-and-true ones above, you’ll notice they’re pithy and quick:
- dead as a doornail
- blind as a bat
- dry as dust
- good as gold
They also seem to benefit from alliteration, though that isn’t required.
I’ve started collecting the ones I read that I like, hoping they’ll spark my imagination when the need arises. Enjoy these (and the occasional metaphor thrown in):
- Stuck out like a leg in a cast, like a dick on a female statue (or, as I’ve read: like a blue dick on a pig)
- Tangled as Grandma’s yarn
- Like Vulcan Kal-tow
- Sense of menace, like the purr of a puma feasting on an elk
- As supportive as a good recliner
- Like having someone else’s shadow
- Hung around his neck like a dead skunk
- Memories jumped him like muggers in the darkness
- when the click of the front door lock behind her sounds like the trumpet of angels
- Like putting toothpaste back in the tube
- dug in like a tick
- set up like a bowling pin (ala Jerry Garcia)
- as flexible as a rubber band
- fell on me and like mold, grew over the top
- on it like a NASCAR pit crew & it disappeared in minutes
- change his views like leaves change colors
- they melted away like snow from a fire
- computers are like dogs; they smell fear
- like exchanging stares with a statue
- It’s good to get up each morning as though your hair were on fire
- Belly preceding him like a cowcatcher on a locomotive
- like the difference between being thrown from the 15th and 16th floor–they both kill you
- that’s a stretch like a fat lady in ski pants
- looked like a college football player ten years out of shape
- waste you like a popsicle on a warm day
- stupider than a ball-peen hammer
- limp like an uprooted weed
- looked like a sunrise, extravagant and full of promise
- like air, you never tire of breathing it
- more beautiful than a bird dog on point
- our troops are the steel in our ship of state
- Is your garage like your garden or like your television set?
- Like a violin in a marching band
- Like a fireman, summoned only when there was trouble
- As limp as a French handshake
- Wanted to hear bad news like he wanted to remove a bandage—quickly as possible
- Collapsed like the French in Algeria
- Not unlike a long walk in tight shoes
- It’s like tinkering with the Titanic
- Vanish like my pay check during tax season?
- I felt completed, like a plant that has been watered
- She was as stiff and unyielding as a lawn chair
- She was like a cable stretched too tight and beginning to fray
- As subtle as a gun
- As much curiosity as a parsnip
- Her voice implied sexual desire the way an alto sax implies jazz
- as easy to read as a large print Tom Clancy novel
- page looks like somebody put it into a blender and hit the Whip button.
- The potential for disaster was enormous, like a family picnicking on the train tracks
- Like a rabies shot
- Winter morning was as bright as a hookers promise and warmer than her heart
- Beaming like a full moon
- As welcome as a fart in an elevator
Click here for 70 more collections of descriptions (like sounds, emotions, and headaches–my personal favorite).
Copyright ©2022 worddreams.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. Her non-fiction includes over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, reviews as an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Savage Land, Winter 2024.
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i hate how the language is here, rude horrible and mean. do not enjoy. I REALLY DONT LIKE THIS
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Wow!Huge collection to boost vocabulary .Thank you very much for sharing.
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They are great, aren’t they?
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Certainly they are great.Very useful .
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What a great selection. I do like, ‘like someone else’s shadow’
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That one makes a lot of sense to me, too. I can feel it.
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Thank you so much for putting these up. they are so useful. i love the “Her voice implied sexual desire the way an alto sax implies jazz” I’m a jazz lover saxophonist my self. I’m glad music is being honoured !
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How did they gain this skill set? For some reason this site takes about a minute to fully load on my friends laptop. Your blog brings me to a new place of understanding. How would you more effectively communicate this idea to a group that have an opposite point of view? I really enjoyed your write up. Your site seriously pumps me up!
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It’s really great to see you still creating great articles still. I’m following along with what you are saying. Anyone can tell that you write because you really love doing it. Thank you for finally talking about this! Do listen to your gut. Then back that up with some data and facts. I used your tips to my life and they worked really well for me.
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Thanks!
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I seriously like this writing a bunch! This is a highly descriptive and well written post. I just shared your article on my Tumblr. Discovered you while on WordPress and I am so happy I did.
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Thanks for sharing!
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Haha these are great – and quite sassy in many cases! Can’t wait to check out your other posts on writing!
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They are! I didn’t want to clean them up TOO much.
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The one that jumped out at me was “The potential for disaster was enormous, like a family picnicking on the train tracks.” Maybe it’s because I often feel like the lives so many of us are privileged to live (driving cars, flying on planes, and in general consuming way more than our fair share of natural resources here on planet earth) are like a family picnicking on train tracks… I also hadn’t realized that alliteration often is part of the power of a simile. Thank you for this thought-provoking post!
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It is, isn’t it (the brick wall we’re speeding toward as we recklessly consume)? I’m appalled on garbage day to see how much is tossed out. Yikes! Our neighbors keep asking to use our spare trashcan space.
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As one who’s both played in marching band, and who’s played violin, I can attest that such a simile is certainly jarring, to say the least. 🙂 What an awesome list!
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Amazing you played instruments that fit both! Electric violin?? There’s a story there.
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LOL! Oh wait, no, my apologies. I played clarinet in marching band, which is its own level of awful. Playing violin next to other violinists is hard enough–I’ve jabbed so many people with either my elbow or my bow…. 🙂
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Clarinet transfers well. My son played string bass, often right behind the clarinets.
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Reblogged this on Miscellaneous Mom.
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Thanks for the reblog!
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Thanks for this, Jacqui. Some great ones, there.
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I’ve been collecting them for years!
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I bet.
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Reblogged this on KCJones.
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Thanks for the reblog!
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Look what I found! You and your post about similes. I’m working on my new novel, and the high school teacher (my main character) is explaining simile to her special ed students. So, I have this teacher thinking up similes in every chapter. It’s quite a challenge! I agree – they’re wonderful if they work, teeth clenching if they’re too far-fetched. 🙂
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I’ve read so many that make me plug my ears. They are harder than they sound. Your book sounds clever though. I look forward to hearing more about it on yur blog.
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Thanks Jacqui. Putting pressure on myself to reach chapter deadlines. A busy fall. But it might be fun to post a simile blog (from part of a chapter) at some point. Did anyone ever tell you that you’re ‘smart as a whip’? 🙂 Just remembered that ole simile.
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Ha! Haven’t heard that one in a while. Kids may wonder what the heck that means. Like ‘dirt poor’. Yeah, I get that one too.
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few caught my eye; try- just like my knees where broken, whom bruised them? & left commentary so astry mystery quickly beckoned dimly.
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Thank you! I will bookmark this blog. You remind me of my bff.
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I can’t believe I missed this two weeks ago. Thanks for visiting, Jesse.
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Amazing helped me
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These are fun, aren’t they?
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This is a very useful list. Thank you so much? is there a simile to do with being trapped and/or vulnerable
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Thanks for visiting, Maxwell!
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Thank you so much for your guidance and inspiration 🙂 ❤
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My pleasure. These are fun, aren’t they?
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Hi Jacqui,
I just found your blog and I love it!
So many helpful suggestions. Thank you!
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Thanks, Mfon. You are so kind. Writing is a wonderful activity.
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I learn so much from your blog. I have always been confused by the whole simile, metaphor, analogy thing. But simile uses like or as. That is good to know! That is something I can remember. 🙂
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I struggle with making it relevant. It has to fit in with the plot, character, story (duh). That took me a while to absorb!
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Reblogged this on Author_Iris_Chacon and commented:
Great ideas and advice for using similes. Thanks, Jacqui.
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5 – His hair soared in the wind like a captive egret, finally released into the wild. Not a minute had passed before a passerby made a joke about “if it was truly yours, it’ll come back to you…” He punched that person.
That was funny!
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That’s another that may have benefited from context!
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I didn’t find some of these very imaginative or evocative. “As flexible as a rubber band”?? How about “as flexible as a politician”
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or as flexible as…
…a career politician.
…as a Louisiana sheriff…
…as an octopus…
…as a pole dancer…
(irony) about as flexible as…
…Jerry Falwell…
…the law of gravity…
…a china cup…
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I probably spend as much time in my writing coming up with similes and metaphors as anything else. It’s so difficult to get them right. The ones listed here were actually published and I’ll say, probably benefit from context!
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OK, that is better. Especially in these days!
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Great resource for my ESL writing classes. Thanks for the list.
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I hadn’t considered that use, Rob. Thanks for sharing.
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To describe an unease of aging you could say “I was not ready for this silver tsunami” or confusion as “he/she answered with a rhetorical smile.”
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Those evoke images. I especially like ‘rhetorical smile’.
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Thank you for sharing.
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My pleasure!
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Great post! I definitely look forward to writing with similes. They’re so hard for me for some reason… Anyway, thanks so much for visiting my blog too!
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What a surprise when I learned it’s not just a clever way to say ‘she’s thin’, but must be related to the theme of the book. Yikes!
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You look like my left nut
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Great site and information! I am posting a link to your site in my next newsletter, Tea and Empathy for Writers, and on my Barefoot Writing Academy facebook page.
editwriteteach.com
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Thanks! Love that name–Tea and Empathy. I need a cuppa right now.
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Similes rock! One of my favorite is “they went together like raw oysters and chocolate syrup…
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Oh that’s good. I grimaced just reading it.
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For a moment I was stuck for words – Thanks great article, helped me out!
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So many ways to say the same thing, aren’t there. A new favorite: “Like worrying about the paper cuts when someone gives me $1000 in bills”.
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Lovely post. Way to avoid those cliches. 🙂
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There are so many ways to communicate. Those verbal images are the most powerful!
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Wonderful post! I am trying to find a simile to describe how slow a bit of technology is, any thoughts?
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“slower than the #4 train to Powkeepsie”? Let’s see if anyone has another idea.
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Progress on “X” is moving slower than a turtle to the line, or “X” has proven to be sloth like in its progress
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“Like having someone else’s shadow.” Who’d ‘ve thought someone else ever felt that? Good list!
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That one grabbed me, too. I have felt like that, but sure didn’t describe it so eloquently.
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I agree. Not to sound trite, but the words jumped off the screen and grabbed me.
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this is amazing but add more words😁😁😁😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
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Love your article. So simply put together. Am going to preserve this for use in my future writing. Thank you for liking my Filter Coffee blog 😍
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I used to make my own instant flavored coffees for Christmas gifts. They were so easy and fun. You took me back to those days.
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Love these!
I remember one from tommy boy
“He could sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman in white gloves” lolll
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Well that’s a great one. I have a disgusting visual for it!
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I loved this post!
Anything I can use for being scared and lost for your life?
(I’m writing about refugees near European Borders)
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‘like a weed, lost in an English garden’… Hmmm…
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As old as a number
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I like it.
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As to the point as a “Uh, um, i can’t remember.what is it called. It was that one thing that is sharp and um pointy. Sort of “um! Oh yeah it was a porcupine. As to the point as a “um a porcupine
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I’m visualizing the porcupine quills. Hmm… Pretty pointy.
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Like is like as as as is like like
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That would be a wonderfully cool line for a certain character, say, a surfer dude.
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What a great list of similes! Can you help me describe my grandma in a good way
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Hmmm… ‘like a cool breeze on a hot day’… ‘like the smell of pumpkin at Thanksgiving dinner’… Anyone have other ideas?
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Enjoyed the Twilight simile. The list made me smile. Clever post.
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Thanks, Nightwriter. I’m getting ready to update this list. I’ve found lots of new favorites.
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Great.
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Can you add mine I am Me.
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I have like 9 more but I realize I should not tell other people the ones I don’t have a claim yet. nothing against this site but I should be careful. If you do put the 3 previous posted you can put it under the anonymous. Thank you.
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Absolutely. I understand.
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These are really great, and helpful, but I have a quick question
What would be a good simile to use for describing a person being drawn in.
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‘Pulled in by the undertow’ or ‘the gravity’? Drawn in like a mom to a Toys R Us Sale? I’m getting this feel about a credit card and a sale, but haven’t quite put it together yet…
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This is what it is for
Fears eyes are her hidden power. Their soft and inviting shape draw you in,
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‘pulled me in like quicksand/a whirlpool’? ‘like a spider to its lair’?
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Nice ones.. but tell me similie of Jeremy and Mike are brave like/as.
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..an introvert at a house party? a cat in a lion’s cage? a weed in an English garden?
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Great. Thanks for the help.
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🙂
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You have really peaked my interest on this topic, might you offer me some more sources? The more you understand about customers, the better off you will be. I first discovered this site about a month ago and I found it was very interesting so I’m glad you are covering this. Do you have any more suggestions or insights? Your points are really well formed and thought up. I have been following this website for some time now and I really like the changes you’ve made to this website.
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How eloquent!… Great list…. I shall save it for myself! … Love and best wishes, dear Jacqui!. Aquileana 🙂
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There’s a little bit of everything. I try to update these lists periodically, but haven’t found new ideas for this one. Any thoughts?
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These are great. Thanks, Jacqui, for sharing. 🙂
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My pleasure. I always find similes difficult to come up with, but highly effective when done right.
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Hey Jacqui,
This post is awesome.
Could you help me with a simile for this sentence- “I called them every year on their birthday…”
Thank you.
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Hmm… I’ll take a stab at it… “Like Groundhog Day, I arrived in her voicemail, every year on her birthday.”
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thank you Jacqui… i very much appreciate.
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Can u help me with this one.
“it rained like… “
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Depending upon context, of course, but: It rained like fire through a lace curtain.
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Excellent post! I love these. So often they can be stale and overused. Thanks for setting us straight!
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I’m with you–especially when I try to find my own. I’ve decided that natural is better, however I am able to reach that state.
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do you have any, for ‘chaos erupted the night like…’
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It depends upon how wild chaos was–like a fire hose, like a lawn sprinkler, like a tuba in a brass band… There are a lot of direction Chaos could go.
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I really enjoyed this post, thanks Jacqui. I will certainly be back to read more of your gems. My maiden name is also Murray, by the way 🙂
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Thanks! There is an entire FB fan page for Murrays. There are a lot of us!
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“more beautiful than a bird dog on point” is my favorite on this list. i’m a long-time dog lover. Thank you for liking my post “The Energizer Bunny”. My mom is my best friend and my hero.
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Ah, another dog lover. That’s what got my attention, too. I have so many great lines about dogs.
I love how much you love your mom. I’m very close to my two children and hope that when they’re your age, we still will be.
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Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner and commented:
Most of those are good, but if you don’t know what they’re referring to, it makes no sense. I don’t know Tom Clancy’s work, a French handshake, or the French in Algeria; to name a few. There’s a lot that I find refreshingly different; a few of which are: the stretched cable, beaming like a full moon, and curious as a parsnip
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Yes, that’s true. It’s because they’re from the novels so they don’t makes sense out of context. Hopefully, the way the words are arranged and the color they carry is sufficient to stoke your creativity.
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Jacqui this is fabulous! my favourite is “like having someone else’s shadow”.
Can you think of any similes to describe a vitriol filled German officer in the trenches of WWI?
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There are some great novels of WWI. Since I can’t experience it first-hand, I’d probably read several of those fictional representations (like All Quiet on the Western Front), hopefully in my genre but not necessarily, and take notes on similes these authors use. When I get enough, it should kick-start my creativity for whatever scene I’m trying to describe.
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How can write someone being to shy to look at me?
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or avoiding to look at me
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Wouldn’t look you in the eye, face paled, fidgeted hands. Think of someone you’re afraid to look at and what you’d do.
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how can i use the word “creativity” ?
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Hmm…
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Do you any simile for staring?
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Let me think on that… Maybe one of the readers has an idea.
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Many years ago I read one but I don’t remember where. It went, “He stares in the air like a ghost in a chair.” Or how about, “A vacant stare like two knotholes in a fence.”
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I like the knotholes. I’m reading the CJ Box Joe Pickett series. It would fit him perfectly.
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Thanks for this awesome article. This really resolved my question. My bff wants to be a master in this field. It’s funny I believed I knew what I was talking about before seeing your site but it turns out I am a dummy. Very efficiently presented article. I used to live out in Louisiana so I understand what you’re talking about here.
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Such a captivating list ^_^ thank you ever so much ~ would it be okay to ask for a couple of similes for anger or mistrust?? Again, thank you 🙂
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Here’s one I like: ‘anger steaming behind him like coal smoke from a power plant. I forget who wrote that’. Or this one ‘kept his anger hidden, like a gun’.
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Thank you so much and sorry for the belated reply – these similes are awesome and you have helped me so much!! Is it alright to use one in my own writing? 🙂
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They were invented by published authors, so use them as inspiration instead. Or, use them but give credit (maybe Google the phrase, see if anyone claimed it!)
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Then I shall use these as inspiration – again thank you very much 🙂
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Had to share this one, Jacqui! It’s priceless 🙂
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There are some good ones. I really struggle to sound this good in my writing.
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Those who struggle, succeed; for struggle in itself is a victory 🙂
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Like a… Hmmm…
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Here is one:
The snow lay in waves, and glistened like sugar.
I came up with it and I’m only ten. Beautiful huh?
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Nicely done. It appeals to a variety of sense, Crystal.
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I want the similes of lonely, angry, tired, embarassed for example:when l am happy, l am as beautiful as a flower.
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Good one, Mohammed.
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Hi, thanks for visiting. Ranching is the primary industry in my area and those hard working people have a way of getting to the point with few words. Some of theirs that come to mind are; “That hill was steep as a cow’s face and I was coming off it like a turpentined cat” or “I know that woman and she’s mean as cat manure.” Another one is”It was as dark as the inside of a cow.”
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And that’s why authors need to research. I never could come up with those on my own. They are great!. I’m going over to check your blog.
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What fun! A great post.
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They make you want to read more, don’t they?
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Absolutely! They also make me want to write… 🙂
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What does this simile mean. “Her eyes were as blue as the ink in my pen, that trickled its life’s blood gently down the front of my pocket, as I tried in vain to get her attention..”
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A lot of pieces to that. ‘Gently’ and ‘life blood’ seem contradictory. Otherwise, I can create a whole image out of her eye color.
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This list is excellent! Thanks a lot! 🙂
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Thanks, Dina.Done right, similes can communicate so much.
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I want to do a description of a person like
Her hair was as white as snow but I’m not sure what to do
Her face is heart shape I need a simile or a metaphor for that
Please help
Helen
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Is hair color indicative of her life experience? ‘Her white hair reminded me of wisdom, culture…’ or is it just ‘white hair, perfect posture, an overbite’?
Same with the face. Decide how you want to address them–as appearance or plot characteristics. Does that make sense?
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Just read a simile on a blog and googled it to see if it’s commonly used. That’s how I came across your post. “As flexible as the truth”. I think this is my favourite one so far.
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That is a great one. Much better than ‘flexible as a rubber band’.
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Thanks for the recent likes! I enjoy your writing about writing.td
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Who would think weeds are interesting–but you make them so, Tim. One of my novels includes a lot of reference to using natural plants for healing so I’ll be trolling your site for ideas on that.
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I forget if I remember it any more, but I’ve always loved “The attention span of a flea”. Don’t remember who said it, or when, but it described my youngest child to the letter, so I fell as much in love with that as I am with him. My youngest brother came up with the opening line, which suits the occasion for both of us now.
I am a new follower, and love your blog. I started reading when my older brother began first grade (no kindergarten back then) and I would do homework with him.
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I guess ‘attention span of a hummingbird’ would get the same idea across, but somehow it’s not the same. Something about a flea…
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I too have become a devoted follower. The only one I can dream up at the moment: He was staunch as an oak, almost as big and twice as thick. It must be too early in the morning….
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I like that one. It starts a bit common, but morphs into something much more interesting (with the twice as thick). Well done.
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Reblogged this on Spirit Sunshine's Blog.
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Thanks for the reblog!
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What a superb list! Thanks for sharing:)
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Similes are great in writing. But they must be fresh–therein lies the challenge. I really struggle with these.
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as welcome as a fart in an elevator..lol! this created a scene in my head, I could clearly picture the chaos and smell the nasty air
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Yuck! Some of these are wonderful. I’m not sure where I’d use this one, but the right place would be gold.
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Thanks Carol for stopping by. BTW–I wanted to drop in on your blog, but the link doesn’t seem to work. Any suggestions?
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I love similes. Whenever you can’t think of a good metaphor, a simile makes an excellent substitute. 🙂
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And it speaks volumes. Nothing can beat ‘as tangled as Grandma’s yarn’, ‘as beautiful as a bird dog on point’, ‘like a violin in a marching band’ (I got these from writers I read)
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Cool!
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Thanks Alot Jacqui I’m finiding this really helpful, hopefully Ill pass my highschool english exam using these.
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Good luck with that, Iris. Similes add such great color to writing–use them often and liberally.
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Thanks so much, Jacqui, for stopping by my blog. Love your place. I’ll be back. This post has me hooked. 😉 I’ll be back to read more.
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I love your thoughts, Tess. Straight-forward, honest. Too often, a rare commodity.
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Well I AM honest, straight-forward—nice to hear. 😉
Like the new pic.
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About the new pic–I don’t know. I can’t seem to get it right. I’ll keep trying.
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what is the simile for the sentence she is as good as what?.
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It so depends upon your intent with that statement. I can think of a few–‘She’s as good as a Mobius Strip in the hands of a child’, ‘She’s as good as sticking your tongue in a fan’, She’s as good as the Sahara on a rainy Tuesday’.
What’s your focus?
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Those similes created many smiles. Thanks.
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There are a few good ones, aren’t there?
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How about these:
-The sky was as black as the deep, dark, Dusty rooms of a torturous hell, in which pain and despair are delivered as fast as the postman delivers mail.
-As useful as a lead bathing suit
-He’s like a good book in the library; everyone wants to check him out.
I thought of them in my English Literature class last week 🙂
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You came up with those on the fly? Well you certainly have the passion, Eve. Nicely done.
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Loved this – very entertaining, and reminded me so much of school, when I learned similes. I was fascinated by them and kept seeing them everywhere!
Great collection here!
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Thanks!
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Thank you so much for stopping by and liking “How To Optimize Your Blog For Income!” I look forward to stopping by yours often 🙂
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I’m a sucker for bloggers who actually come visit. It’s like virtual eye contact.
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Thank you for sharing your expertise and experience. I’d like to feature your blog on my next posting. You are a great asset for writers.
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I’d be honored. Thanks!
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Great post! Great list! Hey… just a side line…my maiden name was Murray!
🙂
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I won’t ask your married name, but I find ‘murray’ much easier than my maiden name. Though, in this international world, it gets mispronounced often!
Thanks for dropping by.
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Does anyone have a good similie for: beady eyes as red as….
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You can find my list of action-oriented eyes here (https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/how-to-describe-body-parts-in-action/)
And here’s my list of eyes and their appearance:
Ferret-like eyes
Dark eyes smoldering
Lined from squinting into too many suns
Eyes were dark pools of fear
Flint-eyed
looked like hell—purple bags under her eyes,
eyes carried a mixture of shock and barely contained anger
one eye clouded with a cataract
wounded eyes
tired eyes
eyes were dark, cupped by fleshy pouches
wire-rimmed glasses
Slate-blue eyes
Dark solemn eyes
Spark in his grey eyes
Steely-eyed
Huge blue eyes that gave her a startled look
Black circles beneath her eyes had become bruises
Wide-spread aquamarine eyes
Beady-eyed
brown eyes wearing reading glasses
Piercing stare
Close set black eyes
Watery blue eyes
Memorable only for his bleak eyes
Nets of wrinkles at the corners of her eyes
Eyes flat as little pebbles
Steely eyed
long eyelashes
laughing eyes
predatory eyes
Eyes were red-rimmed from allergies
Under heavy lids; heavy-lidded
Sensitive brown eyes
Eyes sunk into his sockets
Competitive, fixed, dead-eyed, and querulous stare of people who weren’t getting far enough fast enough
I’ve-seen-it-all eyes
bedroom eyes, dark hair falling into them
Crows feet radiated from corners of eyes
the light fades from his eyes until they are dark and empty
eyes were brown in the middle and bloodshot everywhere else
Does that help?
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The other day WordPress threw this one at me;
A metaphor is like a simile.
— Author Unknown
It did make me smile… 🙂
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I like that.
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Ha ha! I can just imagine explaining this one to my foreign students learning English!
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No wonder English is so difficult to learn. Good luck with that!
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Nice page jaqui my favourite was gleaming like a full moon
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Thanks! Do you have any favorites?
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Yes it is “a stubborn as a mule”
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You’ve met my boss
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Love the list and love your blog, so much valuable content, thank you for stopping by my blog. I look forward to your posts
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My pleasure! And it’s fun reading your blog–so uplifting. I need that at times, too many times!
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Can you tell me if this works; ‘the thought fluttered back at me like a persistent moth.’
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It could, in context. I know from your blog you’re a darn good writer so my guess is it works just fine.
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My favorite is ” The Toucans beak looked like a crayola factory in a 9.1 earthquake.”
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That sure is visual.
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Love your site, will follow you on a regular basis now.
Best Wishes, Jontystales.
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Thanks, Jontysstales. Now, excuse me a moment as I have my yoghurt–Greek, of course.
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‘a fart in a hurricane’ (James Hadely Chase)
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that certainly provokes a mental image!
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This list is fantastic! Thank you for sharing it.
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I’m glad you like it. Do you have any favorites?
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definitely, even though I think my favorites change every day but right now I have two; ‘like exchanging stares with a statue’, and ‘Like having someone else’s shadow’…
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Oh–great ones. I wish I’d come up with them. Don’t remember where I read them, but that’s the writer I want to be.
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