Similes like . . .

She danced like . . .

Similes can add richness to a story, but they should fit the context and be parallel in thought to the word or phrase they’re being compared to. And of course, they should be used in moderation. Anything, no matter how good, can be overdone.

American Heritage Dictionary: 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” (Shakespeare) Plain English: a direct comparison, introduced by like or as, of two things which in their general nature are different from each other.

Everyone makes mistakes. Here’s a line from a much-published author: His seductive tone drew her like gulls to fish bait.  Like gulls to fish bait, aside from being a strange metaphor for a seductive tone, is not parallel to the original idea; the simile is passive and the main phrase is active. It’s awkwardly written and hard to understand.  It should have been like fish bait drew gulls or like fish bait lured gulls—something parallel in construction. Better yet, something more pleasant.



Evening came like . . .



She curled her body into the chair like a kitten [curls itself] in a sunny corner. It’s not usually necessary to repeat the verb, but try it both ways and see which sounds better and gives the better picture. He cut through the water like a dolphin. Or a different image: He cut through the water like a shark. Does that suggest a different mood to you?

Here are some from recent reads.

. . . pink windbreaker flapping behind her like the wake of an ocean liner. Choke, Kaye George



She shrugged off her doubts like a shawl she n o longer needed. The Drinking Game, Chris Redding



Dog Howling by García (Zaqarbal)



Her verbs and nouns fought like cats and dogs. Dear Killer, Linda Lovely

Do you have any good—or bad—examples? Want to add your own simile? Or finish one of these?

Evening came like . . .

The dog howled like . . .

She danced like . . .