# Simile, Metaphor, or Other? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603 "2005-04-10T00:15:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/1 "2005-04-10T00:15:41Z")
“That man has a nose like a bloodhound.” - Simile. “Bob’s a real bloodhound - his nose is very sensitive.” - Metaphor. “If Bob were a dog, he’d be a bloodhound.” - ? A.) Simile. B.) Metaphor. C.) It’s like a simile, but it’s a metaphor. D.) Something else entirely. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/2 "2005-04-10T01:20:49Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > “That man has a nose like a bloodhound.” - Simile. > > “Bob’s a real bloodhound - his nose is very sensitive.” - Metaphor. > > “If Bob were a dog, he’d be a bloodhound.” - ? > > A.) Simile. > B.) Metaphor. > C.) It’s like a simile, but it’s a metaphor. > D.) Something else entirely. My teacher said all similies are metaphors, which in turn are analogies. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/3 "2005-04-10T01:42:40Z")
Your teacher is as wrong as three dollar bill. As for the OP, my vote is for (d) none of the above. It doesn’t fit either the definition of a simile, metaphor, or analogy. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/4 "2005-04-10T01:42:56Z")
Figure of speech is a term that includes similies and metaphors and ought to cover “If Bob were a dog he’d be a bloodhound.” Figure of speech = A form of expression used to convey meaning or heighten effect, often by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has a meaning or conotation familiar to the listener or reader. Webster’s _Collegiate_ ---
**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:** [April 10, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/5 "2005-04-10T03:15:12Z")
I’d say it was an analogy. In symbolic terms: A metaphor says A is equal to B. A simile says A is approximately equal to B. And an analogy says A is to C as B is to D. So assuming you know the values of A,C, and D, you can derive the value of B. In this particular case, assuming the person is aware that a bloodhound is a type of dog that is noted for its keen sense of smell in comparison to other dogs, the analogy informs you that Bob has a keen sense of smell in comparison to other members of whatever group he belongs to. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/6 "2005-04-10T05:17:56Z")
It’s simply the use of the subjunctive. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/7 "2005-04-10T10:39:48Z")
A \*\*simile \*\* is a comparison taking the form “As **a** is to **b** , so \*\*c \*\* is to **d** ”. It highlights the way in which one relationship between two terms corresponds to another such relationship. Example: "As ‘Shakespeare’ is to ‘Hamlet’, so ‘Emily Bronte’ is to ‘Wuthering Heights’ ". The relationship is ‘the first term is the author of the second term’. Second example: "As ‘nose’ is to ‘dog’, so ‘trunk’ is to ‘elephant’ ". A \*\*metaphor \*\* is a transfer or substitution of context intended either to assist explanation, or to achieve a given dramatic effect. When Meatloaf sings that he’ll be gone “like a bat out of hell”, that’s a metaphor. He isn’t actually intending to transform into a bat. He is using the very dramatic metaphor of a bat flying quickly and elusively from a place it doesn’t want to be to illustrate how he will feel and behave in the morning. Metaphors can be short and sweet, or extended and complex. As an example of an extended metaphor, one could cite entire movies or TV series (like ‘The Invaders’ from the 60s) in which the threat of invasion by beings from outer space served as a metaphorical expression for the fear of invasion by communists. **Ouryl** , no disrespect, but either you have misunderstood what your teacher said or you need a new teacher. To answer the OP. " “That man has a nose like a bloodhound.” - Simile. " It isn’t a simile. It’s just a comparison, or it could be regarded as a very simple metaphor. It would only be important to point out that the speaker is speaking metaphorically if there were any danger of his comment being interpreted literally, i.e. that the man’s nose is really shaped like that of a bloodhound. " “Bob’s a real bloodhound - his nose is very sensitive.” - Metaphor. " Same again. It’s just a comparison, or possibly one could call it a very simple metaphor. " “If Bob were a dog, he’d be a bloodhound.” - ? " **MLS** is correct, in that this sentence does use the subjunctive tense. Just for completeness and for anyone wondering, the ‘subjunctive’ tense is used when denoting theoretical or conditional possibility, as opposed to the description of an actual fact. It is usually signalled by the conditional ‘If’ at the start of the phrase. The shift from “He was” to “He were” is one indication of the use of the subjunctive tense. “Bob was a pianist.” is a declarative sentence in the past tense. It tells us about something factual. “If Bob were a pianist, I imagine he’d be a fairly good one.” tells us about something imaginary or hypothetical, and so the subjunctive tense is used. " “If Bob were a dog, he’d be a bloodhound.” - ? " This is not a simile, although it could be recast as one. It is not a metaphor, or at least not a very good or well-expressed one, although it could be recast as one. It is just a statement about Bob, comparing him to a bloodhound. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/8 "2005-04-10T11:53:27Z")
A simile is like a metaphore, but a metaphore is a simile - they are analogous. ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/9 "2005-04-10T12:14:51Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > “That man has a nose like a bloodhound.” - Simile. " > > It isn’t a simile. It’s just a comparison, or it could be regarded as a very simple metaphor. I beg to differ. This is indeed a simile. A simile, by definition, is the explicit comparison of one thing to another by means of the word ‘as’ or ‘like’. Now, if the man in question had a nose which was physically shaped like that of a bloodhound (the poor dear), _then_ the sentence would cease to be a simile. But that seems unlikely here, no? As regards the OP’s question, I will agree with **ianzin** here. Neither a simile nor a metaphor it be. (Though if I were forced to classify it as one or the other, I’d lean more toward simile.) ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/10 "2005-04-10T15:00:29Z")
I was going to say [metonym](http://libarts.latech.edu/ahiggins/ReadLit/FigLang.html) (command F metonym), but I was surprised to see some of the other definitions I found online. Synechdote (also defined on that site) is a word I’ve learned from SD and though it’s not appropiate to your example, it’s a good demonstration of how many words there are to describe the way we shift the meaning of one word or idea onto other words. I think I must have taken a description of metonym from [semiotics](http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem07.html) (again, command F metonym). Poorly phrased, semoiotics is the idea of shifting the meaning from one word to another. This gives phrases like: he likes the bottle too much. Bloodhound would be a good example of how a word can change meaning. The name for a particular species of dog has come to mean someone or something dogged and good at hunting and tracking. (Note that we all seem to understand that you’re not saying he has a big nose and droopy jowls and ears!) (If he was a dog, he’d be a blood hound; if he was a bird, he’d be a falcon; if he was a fish, he’d be a shark; if he was a god, he’d be Cecil Adams!) Over the top? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/11 "2005-04-10T18:45:41Z")
For a simple answer, just check any [dictionary](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=simile) > [@](#): > > sim·i·le ( P ) Pronunciation Key (sm-l) > n. > A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as, as in “How like the winter hath my absence been” or “So are you to my thoughts as food to life” (Shakespeare). The “A is to B as C is to D” is an analogy. From the same [dictionary](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=metaphor) > [@](#): > > met·a·phor ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mt-fôr, -fr) > n. > 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, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world’s a stage” (Shakespeare). ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/12 "2005-04-10T23:43:14Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > A \*\*metaphor \*\* is a transfer or substitution of context intended either to assist explanation, or to achieve a given dramatic effect. When Meatloaf sings that he’ll be gone “like a bat out of hell”, that’s a metaphor. Or a simile. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/13 "2005-04-11T00:16:46Z")
The definitions given in **SiXSwordS’** link is the way I learned it. So, (A) is a simile and the other two are analogies, which are merely comparing the things to other different things. [http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/WEBSTER.sh?WORD=analogy](http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/WEBSTER.sh?WORD=analogy) ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simile-metaphor-or-other/298603/14 "2005-04-11T00:49:20Z")
Just revisiting **SiXSwordS** contribution: Metonymy is a literary device (or _trope_) in which one thing substitutes for another to which it is somehow related. Synechdoche is a literary device in which the part is taken to represent or denote the whole, or vice-versa. Example of metonymy: referring to ‘the throne’ when one is actually referring to the king. Example of synechdoche: referring disparagingly to bureaucrats as ‘the suits’ when one is, obviously, referring to the people, and not just to the suits they normally wear. Neither of these terms has any immediate relevance to the OP. Semiotics is the formalised study of signs and signification. For a truly excellent book on the subject, read ‘Mythologies’ by Roland Barthes. Again, this has nothing to do with the OP.