A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things in an interesting way.

The object of a simile is to spark an interesting connection in a reader's or listener's

mind. A simile is one of the most common forms of figurative language. Examples of
similes can be found just about anywhere from poems to song lyrics and even in everyday
conversations.

Similes and metaphors are often confused with one another. The main difference between a
simile and metaphor is that a simile uses the words "like" or "as" to draw a comparison and
a metaphor simply states the comparison without using "like" or "as".

An example of a simile is: She is as innocent as an angel. An example of a metaphor is: She
is an angel. Do you see the difference? The simile makes a direct comparison, the metaphor's
comparison is implied but not stated.

Some other well-known similes you will often hear are:

 As cute as a kitten
 As happy as a clam
 As light as a feather
 As blind as a bat
 As bold as brass
 As bright as a button
 As shiny as a new pin
 As cold as ice
 As common as dirt
 As cool as a cucumber
 As hard as nails
 As hot as hell
 As innocent as a lamb
 As tall as a giraffe
 As tough as nails
 As white as a ghost
 As sweet as sugar
 As black as coal
 You were as brave as a lion.
 They fought like cats and dogs.
  He is as funny as a barrel of monkeys.
 This house is as clean as a whistle.
 He is as strong as an ox.
 Your explanation is as clear as mud.
 Watching the show was like watching grass grow.
 That is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.
 This contract is as solid as the ground we stand on.
 That guy is as nutty as a fruitcake.
 Don't just sit there like a bump on a log.
 Well, that went over like a lead balloon.
 They are as different as night and day.
 She is as thin as a rake.
 Last night, I slept like a log.
 This dress is perfect because it fits like a glove.
 They wore jeans, which made me stand out like a sore thumb.
 My love for you is as deep as the ocean.
 I am so thirsty that my throat is as dry as a bone.
A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison between two things
that aren't alike but do have something in common. Unlike a simile, where two things
are compared directly using like or as, a metaphor's comparison is more indirect,
usually made by stating something is something else. A metaphor is very expressive; it is
not meant to be taken literally. You may have to work a little to find the meaning in a
metaphor.

For example, a river and tears aren't very alike. One is a body of water in nature, while
the other can be produced by our eyes. They do have one thing in common, though: both
are a type of water that flows. A metaphor uses this similarity to help the writer make a
point:

 Her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks.

As a river is so much larger than a few tears, the metaphor is a creative way of saying
that the person is crying a lot. There are so many tears that they remind the writer of a
river.
Animal Metaphors
 The classroom was a zoo.
 The alligator's teeth are white daggers.
 She is a peacock.
 My teacher is a dragon.
 Mary's eyes were fireflies.
 The computers at school are old dinosaurs.
 He is a night owl.
 Maria is a chicken.
 The wind was a howling wolf.
 The ballerina was a swan, gliding across the stage.
 Jamal was a pig at dinner.
 The kids were monkeys on the jungle gym.
 My dad is a road hog.
 The stormy ocean was a raging bull.
 The thunder was a mighty lion.
Nature Metaphors
 The snow is a white blanket.
 He is a shining star.
 Her long hair was a flowing golden river.
 Tom's eyes were ice as he stared at her.
 The children were flowers grown in concrete gardens.
 Kisses are the flowers of affection.
 The falling snowflakes are dancers.
 The calm lake was a mirror.
 You are my sunshine.
 The moon is a white balloon.
 Her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks.
 The road ahead was a ribbon stretching across the desert.
 Donations to the charity were a tsunami.
 The park was a lake after the rain.
 The sun is a golden ball.
 The clouds are balls of cotton.
 The lightning was fireworks in the sky.
 That lawn is a green carpet.
 The stars are sparkling diamonds.
 Ben's temper was a volcano, ready to explode.
 Those best friends are two peas in a pod.
Everyday Metaphors
 John's suggestion was just a Band-Aid for the problem.
 The cast on his broken leg was a plaster shackle.
 Laughter is the music of the soul.
 America is a melting pot.
 Her lovely voice was music to his ears.
 The world is a stage.
 My kid's room is a disaster area.
 Life is a rollercoaster.
 Their home was a prison.
 His heart is a cold iron.
 At five o'clock, the interstate is always a parking lot.
 Books are the keys to your imagination.
 Her angry words were bullets to him.
 Your brain is a computer.
 The car was a furnace in the sun.
 Thank you so much, you are an angel.
 My baseball coach is an ogre.
 He is a walking dictionary.
 My big brother is a couch potato.
 The teenager's stomach was a bottomless pit.
 I am so excited. My pulse is a race car.
 Toddlers are rug rats.
Personification is when you give an animal or object qualities or abilities that only a
human can have. This creative literary tool adds interest and fun to poems or stories.
Personification is what writers use to bring non-human things to life. It helps us better
understand the writer's message.
Common Personification Examples
The following are some everyday examples of personification you'll hear people say, or see in a
book. Each example shows an object exhibiting a human character trait.

 Lightning danced across the sky.

 The wind howled in the night.
 The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition.
 Rita heard the last piece of pie calling her name.
 My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning.
 The avalanche devoured anything standing in its way.
 The door protested as it opened slowly.
 My house is a friend who protects me.
 The moon played hide and seek with the clouds.
 The approaching car's headlights winked at me.
 The camera loves her since she is so pretty.
 The stairs groaned as we walked on them.
 Our vacuum hums a happy tune while it cleans.
 My flowers were begging for water.
 The ivy wove its fingers around the fence.
 The thunder was grumbling in the distance.
 The cactus saluted those who drove past.
 The wildfire ran through the forest at an amazing speed.
 The moon smiled at the stars in the sky.
 The leaves waved in the wind.
 Time flies when you're having fun.
Hyperbole, from a Greek word meaning "excess," is a figure of speech that uses extreme
exaggeration to make a point or show emphasis. It is the opposite of understatement.

 You can find examples of hyperbole in literature and everyday speech. You wouldn't
want to use it in nonfiction works, like reports or research papers, but it's perfect for
creative writing and communication, especially when you want to add color to a
character or humor to a story.
 Hyperboles are not comparisons, like similes and metaphors, but extravagant and even
ridiculous overstatements, not meant to be taken literally. In literature, hyperbole
 will often be used to show contrast or catch the reader's attention. Let's take a
closer look.

Hyperbole in Everyday Use

In these common, everyday examples of hyperbole, you'll see the sentiment isn't realistic, but it
helps to stress the point.

 I've told you to clean your room a million times!

 It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing hats and jackets.
 She's so dumb, she thinks Taco Bell is a Mexican phone company.
 I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
 I have a million things to do today.
 When I was young, I had to walk 15 miles to school, uphill, in the snow.
 I had a ton of homework.
 If I can't buy that perfect prom dress, I'll die!
 He's as skinny as a toothpick.
 The car went faster than the speed of light.
 His new car cost a bazillion dollars.
 We're so poor we don't have two cents to rub together.
 That joke is so old, the last time I heard it I was riding a dinosaur.
 They ran like greased lightning.
 He's got tons of money.
 You could have knocked me over with a feather.
 Her brain is the size of a pea.
 My geography teacher is older than the hills.
Alliteration happens when words that start with the same sound (not just the same
letter) are used repeatedly in a phrase or sentence. The sound is usually a consonant
and the words don't have to be right next to one another.

One of the fun features of alliteration is when it becomes a tongue twister. Get ready to
bring on some giggles as you explore these alliteration examples for kids.

Alliterative sentences
Note that alliteration does not depend on letters but on sounds, so "Kim came" is alliteration,
even though the the words start with different letters.
 Come and clean the chaos in your closet.
 The big, bad bear scared all the baby bunnies by the bushes.
 Shut the shutters before the banging sound makes you shudder.
 Go and gather the green leaves on the grass.
 Please put away your paints and practice the piano.
 Round and round she ran until she realized she was running round and round.
 I had to hurry home where grandma was waiting for her waffles.
 The boy buzzed around as busy as a bee.
 Garry grumpily gathered the garbage.
 Those lazy lizards are lying like lumps in the leaves.
 Paula planted the pretty pink poppies in the pot.
 Kim came to help us cut out a colorful kite for Chris.
 Bake a big cake with lots of butter and bring it to the birthday bash.
 Paula's prancing pony out-performed all the others.
 Little Larry likes licking the sticky lollipop.
Alliteration Tongue Twisters
Here are some fun tongue-twister examples. Try saying them quickly!

 Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers, where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
 A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.
 Black bug bit a big black bear. But where is the big black bear that the big black bug bit?
 Sheep should sleep in a shed.
 I saw a saw that could out saw any other saw I ever saw.
 A big bug bit the little beetle but the little beetle bit the big bug back.
 Show Shawn Sharon's shabby shoes.
 How much wood would a woodchuck chuck; If a woodchuck would chuck wood? A
woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck; If a woodchuck would chuck wood.
 Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep. The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed shilly-
shallied south. These sheep shouldn't sleep in a shack.
Allusion Definition
Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea
of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not
describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is just a
passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough
knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text.

Allusion Examples in Everyday Speech

The use allusions are not confined to literature alone. Their occurrence is
fairly common in our daily speech. Look at some common allusion examples
in everyday life:

 “Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” – “Romeo” is a reference to

Shakespeare’s Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet, in “Romeo and
Juliet”.
 The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s box of crimes. – This is an
allusion to one of Greek Mythology’s origin myth, “Pandora’s box”.
 “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” – This is a biblical allusion to the
“garden of God” in the Book of Genesis.
 “Hey! Guess who the new Newton of our school is?” – “Newton”, means
a genius student, alludes to a famous scientist Isaac Newton.
 “Stop acting like my ex-husband please.” – Apart from scholarly
allusions we refer to common people and places in our speech.

Onomatopoeia Examples
Onomatopoeia is when a word’s pronunciation imitates its
sound. When you say an onomatopoeic word, the utterance itself is
reminiscent of the sound to which the word refers. Poets use
onomatopoeia to access the reader’s auditory sense and create rich
soundscapes. It is one of many poetic devices dealing with the sounds of
poetry. Many people confuse onomatopoeia with interjections;
however, they are two different and distinct concepts. Interjections
are one of the eight parts of speech. An interjection is a sudden
outburst of emotion or excitement, such as “ouch” or “wow.”
1. The sheep went, “Baa.”
2. The best part about music class is that you can bang on the drum.
3. It is not unusual for a dog to bark when visitors arrive.
4. Silence your cellphone so that it does not beep during the movie.
5. Dad released a belch from the pit of his stomach.
6. The bridge collapsed creating a tremendous boom.
7. The large dog said, “Bow-wow!”
8. Are you afraid of things that go bump in the night?
9. My brother can burp the alphabet.
10. Both bees and buzzers buzz.
11. The cash register popped open with a heart warming ca-ching.
12. The bird’s chirp filled the empty night air.
13. Her heels clacked on the hardwood floor.
14. The clanging pots and pans awoke the baby.
15. If you want the red team to win, clap your hands right now!
16. The cadets swelled with pride when they heard the clash of the
cymbals at their graduation ceremony.
17. The dishes fell to the floor with a clatter.
18. Nothing annoys me more than rapidly clicking your pen.
19. The bride and groom were not surprised to hear the familiar
sound of clinking glasses.
20. The horse’s hooves clip-clopped on the cobblestones.
21. Those clucking chickens are driving me crazy!
22. The dim-witted pigeon repulsed us with its nerve crawling coo.
23. If you’re going to cough, please cover your mouth.
24. The prisoner was terrified to hear the crack of the whip.
25. We roasted marshmallows over the crackling fire.
26. The two-year old crashed into the cabinet.
27. The cabinet opened with a distinct creak.
28. Dissatisfied with her work, Beth crinkled up the paper and
threw it in the trash.
29. The swamp frogs croaked in unison.
30. The teacher heard the distinct crunch of ruffled potato chips.
31. Jacob could not sleep with the steady drip-drop of water
coming from the sink.
32. The root beer fizzed over the top of the mug.
33. The flag flapped in wind.
34. Did you forget to flush the toilet?
35. Daryl gargled the mouthwash.