Robert Greene’s pastoral romance Menaphon (Bookshop|Amazon), written in 1589, includes this memorable simile: “Thy breath is like the steeme of apple pies.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Thy Breath Is Also Like Baseball, and...
This week’s head-scratcher from Quiz Guy John Chaneski is like a puzzle about similes. In fact, it is a puzzle about similes. For example, say you’re looking for a word to complete the phrase dead as a. You might choose the name of a bird, or you...
If someone’s really intelligent, they might be described with the simile “as smart as a bee sting.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Smart as a Bee Sting” Here’s a simile I really like that comes from Rose Carbinella, who lives in...
A listener in Ellsworth, Michigan, shares a favorite simile from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bricks in...
When does a word’s past make it too sensitive to use in the present? In contra dancing, there’s a particular move that dancers traditionally call a gypsy. But there’s a growing recognition that many people find the term gypsy offensive. A group of...
Some of the more successful similes in Grenville Kleiser’s 1910 book Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases include the sky was like a peach and like footsteps on wool and quaking and quivering like a short-haired puppy after a ducking. This is part of a...