Similes

1. He was drawn to the casino like a moth to a flame.

What is effective about this simile?
This simile suggests that he felt an irresistable impulse to go to the casino,
and that going to the casino would cause him to be harmed in some
way(most likely financially).
2. His hand was as limp as a wet rag.
What is effective about this simile? (Clue: Imagine holding a limp, wet
rag in your hand. How does that feel?)
This simile suggests that the person shaking his hand could feel no
strength or energy at all in his grip.

Metaphors
In each pair of sentences in the text box below, one sentence has been written
literally, and the other, figuratively. See if you can identify which sentence in
each pair contains the metaphor.

1 (i) Joe's personal trainer whipped him back into shape within 3 months.
(ii) The guard mercilessly whipped the errant prisoner's back.
(i) It suggest that his personal trainer put him through a very rigorous/very
strict exercise regimen to get him back in shape.

*literal meaning of whipped means to beat with a lash, rod especially by

way of punishment.
*errant means deviating from proper course or stray

2 (i) The workers bulldozed the mountains of refuse to flatten them.

(ii) Steve bulldozed his way through the meeting.
(ii) It suggests that Steve bullied his way through the meeting in order to get
his way.

*literal meaning of bulldoze means to clear, level or reshape the contours

of land by or as if by using a bulldozer.
3 (i) Several mountaineers fell to their deaths when they were caught in an
avalanche while climbing Mt. Everest.
(ii) The journalists buried the Senator under an avalanche of questions.

(ii) It suggests that the journalists asked the Senator an overwhelmingly huge
number of questions.

*literally meaning of avalanche means a large mass of snow detached

from a moutain slope and sliding or falling suddenly downward.
*senator means government
4 (i) Having suffered so much pain at the hands of every person she had ever
been close to, Lucy built a wall of aloofness around her.
(ii) Since no one would expect any of the prisoners to even think of
scaling the towering prison wall, he decided that was precisely how he
would escape from this hellhole.
(i) It suggests that Lucy used aloofness as a barrier between her and other
people so that no one would be able to get close enough to her to hurt her
emotionally.
*aloofness means indifference, distant or reserved