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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s episode and it’s all about common similes in conversation.
A simile according to Oxford Languages is "a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid." Similes use the words "like" or "as" to compare things.
For example, you may hear someone say that you look "like a deer in the headlights" if you look confused. This is a common simile and it’s a vivid visual. I bet it evoked an image of a deer standing in front of the headlights of a car. Yup. I just put that image in your mind. While in Italy, in a coffee shop, I had no idea how to order a coffee, I just looked at the barista like a deer in the headlights. I looked confused.
In addition to the word "like," you’ll recognize a simile in speech when you hear a comparison made with as, as used twice.
In today’s audio, for example, you’ll hear Liz say that she feelstas old as dirt. Dirt is the brown stuff you use in your garden, you dig a hole in dirt to plant seeds or flowers. When something is described as being as old as dirt, it means it is very old. Sometimes Liz feels as old as dirt.
In today’s lesson, Liz and I will be going through 15 common similes that you’ll hear in everyday conversation. Some are literal, so they’ll sound normal, others are quite random, so you might want to write them down in your notebook. If you want the full list of words with examples, and a quiz to make sure you’ve understood them, be sure to sign up to premium content at americanenglishpodcast.com.
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