Simile

It's been a hard day's night,and I've been working like a dog
The Beatles
A simile is a figure of speech that says that one thing is like another different thing. We can use similes to make descriptions more emphatic or vivid.
We often use the words as...as and like with similes.
Common patterns for similes, with example sentences, are:
something [is*] AS adjective AS somethingHis skin was as cold as ice.It felt as hard as rock.She looked as gentle as a lamb.
something [is*] LIKE somethingMy love is like a red, red rose.These cookies taste like garbage.He had a temper (that was) like a volcano.
something [does**] LIKE somethingHe eats like a pig.He smokes like a chimney.They fought like cats and dogs.
* stative verb: be, feel, smell, taste etc** action verb
Here are some more examples of well known similes:
[is] AS adjective AS something
meaning
as blind as a bat
completely blind
as cold as ice
very cold
as flat as a pancake
completely flat
as gentle as a lamb
very gentle
as light as a feather
very light
as old as the hills
very old
as sharp as a knife
very sharp
as strong as a bull
very strong
as white as snow
pure white
as wise as an owl
very wise
Longer list of AS...AS similes
[is] LIKE something
possible meaning (depending on context)
like a rose
beautiful
like a volcano
explosive
like garbage
disgusting
like an animal
inhuman
like spaghetti
entangled
like dewdrops
sweet and pure
like golddust
precious
like a tip
very untidy (tip = garbage dump)
like a dream
wonderful, incredible
like stars
bright and beautiful
[does] LIKE something
meaning
to drink like a fish
to drink a lot
to eat like a bird
to eat very little
to eat like a horse
to eat a lot
to eat like a pig
to eat impolitely
to fight like cats and dogs
to fight fiercely
to sing like an angel
to sing beautifully
to sleep like a log
to sleep well and soundly
to smoke like a chimney
to smoke heavily, all the time
to soar like an eagle
to fly high and free
to work like a dog
to work very hard
Note that with the AS...AS pattern, the first AS is sometimes suppressed, for example:
His skin was cold as ice.
The above patterns of simile are the most common, but there are others made with adverbs or words such as than and as if, for example:
He ran as fast as the wind.
He is larger than life.
They ran as if for their lives.
Similes can include other figures of speech. For example, "He ran like greased lightning" is a simile that includes hyperbole (greased lightning).
Similes often make use of irony or sarcasm. In such cases they may even mean the opposite of the adjective used. Look at these examples:
His explanation was as clear as mud. (not clear at all since mud is opaque)
The film was about as interesting as watching a copy of Windows download. (long and boring)
Watching the show was like watching paint dry. (very boring)
Similes are often found (and they sometimes originate) in poetry and other literature. Here are a few examples:
A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle - Irina Dunn
Dawn breaks open like a wound that bleeds afresh - Wilfred Owen
Death has many times invited me: it was like the salt invisible in the waves - Pablo Neruda
Guiltless forever, like a tree - Robert Browning
Happy as pigs in mud - David Eddings
How like the winter hath my absence been - William Shakespeare
As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Jubilant as a flag unfurled - Dorothy Parker
So are you to my thoughts as food to life - William Shakespeare
Yellow butterflies flickered along the shade like flecks of sun - William Faulkner
Popular songs, too, make use of simile:
A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle - U2
Cheaper than a hot dog with no mustard - Beastie Boys
I must do what's right, as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti - Toto
It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog - The Beatles
Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
Like a bat outta [out of] hell - Meat Loaf
My heart is like an open highway - Jon Bon Jovi
These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall - Led Zeppelin
Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull
You are as subtle as a brick to the small of my back - Taking Back Sunday