III. Similes

A simile is a comparison of two things, usually introduced by like or as, and is used to emphasize or illustrate an idea.

A. Match these of these adjective phrases with one of the twelve similes.

	healthy short of money very pale well-behaved hard of hearing extremely short-sighted crazy obvious unflappable ancient defunct tough
as cool as cucumber __ unflappable _______ as good as gold _ well-behaved _______ as poor as a church mouth _ short of money __ as white as a sheet __ very pale ______ as hard as nails __ tough _______________ as dead as a doornail __ defunct _________		as blind as a bat _ extremely short-sighted __ as fit as a fiddle __ healthy ____________ as deaf as a post _ hard of hearing ________ as mad as a hatter _ crazy ___________ as plain as the nose on your face _ obvious ___ as old as the hills __ ancient ____________

2. Form correct similes to complete the sentences, using as or like, the word in brackets, and a word or phrase from the box. There is one more than you need.

two short planks out of water bull thin rock bell red judge mule

1. You won’t need another check-up for a while, Mr. Ferguson. Your chest is _as sound as a bell__. (sound) здоров как бык, абсолютно здоровый

2. She was so embarrassed! She went _as red as a beetroot___. (beetroot) красный как рак

3. Do you know, Andy barged right in without a by-your-leave! He’s just _like a bull__. (bull)

4. Mandy hasn’t got used to being a student again. She missed her job, and hasn’t made any new friends yet. At the moment she feels _like out-of-water fish _. (fish) как рыба , вытащенная из воды

5. That lad doesn’t understand a thing you say to him. He must be _as thick as two short planks _. (thick) туп как пробка

6. At least you don’t need to think about losing weight! You’re _as thin as a rake__! (rake) тощий как щепка

7. I didn’t mind the police breathalysing me at all, because luckily I was _as sober as a judge__.(sober) абсолютно трезвый, ни в одном глазу

8. You simply cannot make her change her mind. Once she’s decided something, that’s it. She is _as stubborn as a mule_. (stubborn) упряма как ослица

2. Match the two halves of the sentences correctly. They all contain similes with like, some involving idiomatic usage.

1 G.

2 A.

3 F.

4 B.

5 D.

6 E.

7 C.

1. The photographers clustered round the actress like bees round a honeypot.

2. They treated me very kindly, just like one of the family.

3. He avoids family holidays like the plague.

4. In a very short time the rumour spread like wildfire.

5. Jeff’s new board game is selling like hot cakes.

6. I’ve got absolutely soaked, I look like a drowned rat!

7. He can’t put a foot wrong, or Janet comes down on him like a ton of bricks.