Simile or Metaphor? Your challenge today is to recognize the difference between a simile and a metaphor. Can you do it?

A simile is where two things are indirectly compared, and “as” or “like” is used to make the comparison. For example: As cold as a dog’s nose. He was slow like a snail.

A metaphor also compares two things, but it does so directly without using “as” or “like”. In other words, a metaphor states that one thing is another thing. For Example: The shop was a little gold mine.

Let’s see how easily you can identify similes and metaphors in the following sentences… …AND determine what two things are being compared.

When we soaped up our dog, he became as slippery as an eel. Simile Metaphor

He was a lion in battle when another dog approached his water bowl. Simile Metaphor

On the first day of school, she is always as pretty as a picture in her new clothes. Simile Metaphor

The summer’s clouds were fluffy cotton wool. Simile Metaphor

The striker was a goal machine while the other team tried to keep up. Simile Metaphor

Now read the following two poems and identify the simile or metaphor in each one. He’s white as spilled milk My cat who sleeps With his belly Turned toward The summer sky -- from “Ode to Mi Gato” by Gary Soto Fame is a bee. It has a song— It has a sting— Ah, too, it has a wing. -- by Emily Dickenson

Great work! Here is your next challenge: Pretend you are a wanted fugitive. You have committed some seriously bad crimes that have landed you on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list in the United States. You know the police are going to be posting your face on wanted posters all over the country. Arrogant criminal that you are, you decide to design the poster for them. You will give them a TON of information about yourself, but only in the form of similes and metaphors. It will be up to the police to figure out what you are trying to tell them, so be crafty and creative with your words!