Examples of Metaphors

uh....that is a simile--it uses like or as

"her presence warmed the room similar to the sun"
"her presence warmed the room same as the sun"
"her presence warmed the room undifferentiated from the sun"

metaphor or simile? The only difference is literally "like"?

"her presence warmed the room like the sun"

The basic difference between a simile and a metaphore is that a simile says that one thing is LIKE another, and a metaphore says that one thing IS another. "All the world IS a stage" Not all definitions state that similes use "like" or "as", but in reality they do.

this page might help:

http://teenwriting.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-simile.htm

"She really ruffled his feathers" this is a metaphor, because we are talking about a woman annoying a man - not about a woman stroking a bird.

"The moon's a balloon" is a metaphor - of cours the moon is not really a balloon

"The world is my oyster"

"She was a tigress when roused"

Similes and metaphors can be very similar, but you must remember the definition. You cannot substitute "comprable to" because you are not comparing, you are actually saying that one thing is like another.

Languages are not always logical, because they are full of idosyncratic things - like metaphors, similes, idioms and proverbs. Can you think of an idiom or saying in your language that an English speaker might not understand?

Here's an example of why a metaphor works, Guest, which might help you if the other material in this thread hasn't hit the spot.

Couch Potato:
Couch potato = lazy person. A lazy person buries themselves in the cushions of a couch (sofa, chesterfield, La-Z-Boy) in safe, sedentary comfort, "vegging out" mindlessly in front of the TV, eyes in a fixed, submissive stare. A couch potato never leaves the home, and cannot be motivated, having everything nearby so they never have to move. Compare this to the potato, which is buried in the comfort and providence of soil and to which the only escape from its lifestyle is death. Covered in eyes, but without a brain or muscle, the potato is snuggled and unmotivated.

A comfortable sofa is fertile soil for the couch potato.

Falderal