Similes with LIKE + a NOUN PHRASE (1)

By request here is a list of some similes that are made up of (a verb) and then like followed by a noun phrase. Today we will concentrate on ones related to animals.

We told John to be careful when he was decorating the living room, but he's like a bull in a china shop so unsurprisingly things got broken.

I don't know where John had been or what he'd been doing but I swear when he walked through the door he looked like something the cat dragged in.

I've been running around like a headless chicken all day, I haven't had a moment to sit down and relax.

When Nancy first moved to Spain she felt like a fish out of water, but she soon got used to the Spanish way of life.

When Kelly won the award for employee of the year she sat in front of us all grinning like the cat that got the cream. I was so jealous!

If Jamie doesn't get a good night's sleep, he's like a bear with a sore head for the rest of the day!

Animal Similies

In English as in any language, you can invent any simile you like. However, we also have certain standard, or at least very common, similes that most native speakers will at least know, if not use. Today we'll look at some that incorporate animals. We're going to stick to the simple as ... as formula. (For more similes based on this formula, click on the simile tag at the end of the post and see previous related blog entries)

• as wise as an owl
• as strong as an ox
• as quiet as a mouse
• as slippery as an eel (someone who cannot be trusted)
• as stubborn as a mule
• as slow as a snail

Now it's your turn. Can you match these animals to their adjectives to form similes?







FREE - CUNNING - SICK - BUSY - HUNGRY - PLAYFUL - BLIND

Feel free to post your answers in the comments box.

More simile stories

Here are a couple more simile stories, these ones written using as + adjective + as + noun similes in English. One's a brain teaser. Can you work out the answer?

A friend of mine wanted to set me a problem to solve. "It's as easy as pie," he said.

In the story, two friends meet in the street. One asks the other, "You were as crazy as a loon and you got married 20 years ago, didn't you?"

The second one answers, "Yes, and I am as happy as Larry."

The first one asks, "And do you have children?"

The second man answers, "Yes, I have three daughters with hair as black as coal. If you multiply all three of their ages, the product is 36. And the sum of theirages is the number of this house. If you are as clever as you think you are, you will be able to tell me my daughters' ages."

The next day, the first man phones the second and says, "Last night I was as busy as a bee trying to calculate your daughters' ages, but I thought you should give me another clue."
The second man says, "You're right, I forgot to tell you that the eldest plays piano."

What are their ages? [See below for the answer.]

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My friend Daniela told me the most incredible story last week. Of course, she's as mad as a hatter, so you have to take everything she says with a grain of salt.

Now, the first thing you need to know is that she and her boyfriend Jeffrey are as different as chalk and cheese. He's as sweet as pie, and she's as happy as a cat with two tails to be with him. They were hiking in a national park when they suddenly came across a bear standing in their path as bold as brass.

As Daniela's as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, it's not surprising that she turned as white as a sheet and ran off as fast as greased lightning. Bob, however, remained as cool as a cucumber, and just stood there on the path as quiet as a mouse. And wouldn't you know it, as sure as God made little green apples, the bear slowly walked up to him. Bob was as pleased as Punch that the bear only sniffed [smelled] him a bit, cuffed [hit with an open paw] him hard across the head as playfully as a kitten, and ambled off [walked slowly away]. Jeff had been as helpless as a baby in the situation, but luckily he survived.

Why don't you try writing a story yourself using some other similes, and post it here?

[Answer: The girls are 2, 2 and 9. This is the only possibility, because there are only two sets of numbers which add up to the same total (13): 2, 2 and 9 and 1, 6 and 6. As the first man knows that 13 is the house number, he needs more information to determine which choice is correct. When the second man tells him that the eldest ONE plays the piano, he knows it can't be the 1, 6 and 6 option, in which there are two eldest daughters, six-year-old twins.]

Similes with "as if/though"

We've been talking about similes in one of my classes, and my students wrote some group stories to practice similes with "as ... as ..." and "as if/though". They're really very interesting, so I thought you might like to read them. [The parts in quotes are my editorial suggestions] They were given themes to start them off:

Fear

I was in the middle of the Amazon, desperately running and escaping from someone, I don't remember very well who, when I suddenly fell down with no possibility of getting up [and couldn't get back up]. I realised five snakes were beginning to surround me as if an octopus was trying to embrace me. My skin felt dirty and sticky as if I were covered with amniotic fluid inside an octopus egg about to hatch. But my soul was as calm as that of a baby. I felt that peace inside, then I knew, I was dead.

Freedom
Suddenly I found myself in the middle of an unrecognizalbe city. I was lost and felt like a dog abandoned at a petrol station [AmEng gas station] or a Touareg in the fog. Suddenly a noise coming from the end of the bridge made me move towards it, as alert as if an intangible force was drawing me. I could feel myself floating along quickly. The nearer the sound I was, the more excited I got, as if I were approaching to meet the one possessing the secret that could bring the world to a peaceful era. Suddenly the light of a headlamp focused on my eyes, I could not continue walking ...

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If you notice the grammar, there are three different types of similes in these stories:

as + adj. + as + noun
as if/though + subj. + past tense
like + noun

NB: In the second type, you may have noticed that the forms of the verb 'to be' (was/were) do not correspond to those used in "real" time. This is because when we talk about "unreal" or "imaginary" time (for example, in the 2nd conditional), with I and he/she/it you can use either "was" or "were". Using "were" is normal in American English, and considered more formal in British English.

Many thanks to my students for allowing me to publish their writing here.

Similes with colors

In English as in any language, you can invent any simile you like. However, we also have certain standard, or at least very common, similes that most native speakers will at least know, if not use. Today we'll look at some that incorporate colors (BrEng colours). We're going to stick to the simple as ... as formula.

• as red as blood / a rose
  
• as red as a beet (BrEng beetroot) (embarrased or angry)
  
• as white as snow
  
• as white as a ghost / a sheet (when you're ill or scared)
  
• as black as night / coal / the ace of spades (playing card)
  
• as good as gold
• as blue as the sky
  

If you're really interested in similes, check out similipedia, which catalogues similes from literature.