# Are all metaphors similes, or vice versa, or what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 28, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896 "2004-08-28T03:17:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/1 "2004-08-28T03:17:10Z")
I recall being taught (starting a sentence with those words is always dangerous) that the simplistic definition of similes and metaphors as being mutually exclusive – the former, unlike the latter, using ‘like’ or ‘as’ when making its figurative comparison – was wrong, and that one (I think simile) was actually a subset of the other (I think metaphor), like the old saw about pennies and coins. My girlfriend adamantly contends that this isn’t true, and that something can’t be both a simile and a metaphor. The dictionaries we’ve checked appear to support her. Have I been under a false apprehension all this time, like the fox who thought the reflection of the moon in the river was a piece of cheese, or will I be the cat that’s eaten the canary? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/2 "2004-08-28T03:23:49Z")
Simple solution - ask her for an example of a metaphor-simile combination. Because if there is one, i’d like to know 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/3 "2004-08-28T04:43:40Z")
I’m with your GF. A simile compares two different things; a metaphor kind of replaces one thing with another: says thing one IS thing two. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/4 "2004-08-28T05:02:51Z")
A simile compares two things; a metaphor equates two things. Simile: He’s as dumb as a bag of hammers. Metaphor: He’s the dullest knife in the drawer. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/5 "2004-08-28T20:47:58Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > A simile compares two things; a metaphor equates two things. How exactly does one equate two things without comparing them? A simile is a specific type of metaphor usually using “like” or “as” as a comparison. “He is a fox” is a metaphor. “He is like a fox” is a metaphor and a simile. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/6 "2004-08-28T20:56:34Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > How exactly does one equate two things without comparing them? > [@](#): > > Metaphor - A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an **implicit** comparison [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=metaphor](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=metaphor) (My bolding) A simile is an _explicit_ comparison, which involved equating one with the other; a metaphor an _implicit_ comparison, without the equation… ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/7 "2004-08-28T21:36:03Z")
My point still being that there’s no way to equate one thing to another without comparing the two things. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/8 "2004-08-29T00:23:00Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > A simile is an **explicit** comparison, which involved equating one with the other; a metaphor an **implicit** comparison, without the equation… So then “He’s the dullest knife in the drawer” is a simile, right? We’re explicitly comparing him to a knife, because they’re both dull. And “the road of life” is also a simile, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Faldage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Faldage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faldage)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/9 "2004-08-29T01:03:36Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > So then “He’s the dullest knife in the drawer” is a simile, right? We’re explicitly comparing him to a knife, because they’re both dull. And “the road of life” is also a simile, yes? A simile makes the comparison explicitly, a [metaphor](http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Figures/M/metaphor.htm) does so implicitly. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/10 "2004-08-29T01:20:16Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > So then “He’s the dullest knife in the drawer” is a simile, right? We’re explicitly comparing him to a knife, because they’re both dull. And “the road of life” is also a simile, yes? No. They’re both metaphors. They’re not explicit comparisons, they’re explicit substitutions of descriptive images for the literal description of reality. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/11 "2004-08-29T01:24:24Z")
To express it in symbolic logic: Simile: A and B are both a subset of C (he and a bag of hammers are both examples of unintelligent things) Metaphor: A = B (he is a poorly maintained eating utensil) As you can see, metaphors are virtually never literally true; similes usually are intended to be literally true. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/12 "2004-08-29T01:37:12Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > As you can see, metaphors are virtually never literally true; similes usually are intended to be literally true. Hmmmm…you’ve got me thinking…is it _possible_ for a metaphor to be literally true? Or if it is, is it not a metaphor? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/13 "2004-08-29T04:05:40Z")
I always thought a metaphor was when you never even mention the thing you’re **really** talking about. The best example I can think of is the book _Animal Farm_, where every animal is generally accepted to represent a person or organization (e.g. Lenin, the Church, etc.) but the actual people (e.g. Lenin himself, etc.) are never mentioned in the book. But I guess I’m wrong. So what would call that? Symbolism? So then we have symbols, metaphors, and similes? ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/14 "2004-08-29T04:33:13Z")
Here’s how I explained it to my eighth graders: The subject is _figurative language_, which includes: similes, metaphors, irony, symbolism, hyperbole, apostrophe, and a few other items which I can’t recall off the top of my head. A simile is a direct comparison. _This_ is like _that_. _He_ is as [blank] as a [blank]. You mention both things as being similar to one another. A metaphor is an implicit comparison. Implicit because you don’t say “this is like that,” you say “_this_ IS \*.” For instance, I could say “Life’s a bitch.” That’s a metaphor. It is not, however, literally true. You could not, for instance, take a picture of someone’s life and end up with a portrait of a female dog. A metaphor is a kind of code. You substitute one thing for another, but you tell the reader exactly what you’re doing. Sometimes, you can get an extended metaphor, where you tell the reader once what you’re doing, and then keep the idea up without repeating the key to the code. For instance: My English teacher’s a real witch. I bet she rides a broom to class every day. A symbol is similar to a metaphor in that it’s a code. The trick is, though, that the author doesn’t give you the key to the code. You have to figure it out for yourself. In _To Kill a Mockingbird_, Atticus Finch tells his daughter not to shoot her pellet gun at any mockingbirds, because it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. The mockingbird becomes a symbol for Tom Robins (?) - and it could be argued vice-versa - because it represents destroying an innocent, a thing that did no harm. The author never comes right out and says “Tom is the mockingbird”. You have to figure it out for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/15 "2004-08-29T05:07:19Z")
> [@](#): > > I always thought a metaphor was when you never even mention the thing you’re really talking about. The best example I can think of is the book Animal Farm, where every animal is generally accepted to represent a person or organization (e.g. Lenin, the Church, etc.) but the actual people (e.g. Lenin himself, etc.) are never mentioned in the book. > > But I guess I’m wrong. So what would call that? Symbolism? So then we have symbols, metaphors, and similes? I believe _Animal Farm_ is an example of an allegory - a narrative using symbolic characters. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-metaphors-similes-or-vice-versa-or-what/261896/16 "2004-08-29T05:47:50Z")
I always teach my kids that a simile is _like_ a metaphor… 😃