Simile, metaphor and metonymy

Question

I'm having a hard time diffrenciating among them. They all seem like one can be the other in some cases. Can someone help me out? Is there a clear set of explanation/description, a rule of thumb maybe, to identify one from the other.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

There are hundreds of sites on the internet where you can read definitions of these terms and see examples. Sometimes they contradict one another. There are many controversial cases where an example is analyzed as metaphor by one author and as metonymy by another, so it's not surprising that you feel that they are all like one another.

The usual definition of simile, however, includes the idea that there must be a statement that one thing is like another. Words like like itself, or as, or as if are found in similes.

The difference between metaphor and metonymy is that metaphor substitutes one concept for another, while metonymy selects an associated term for another.

The basics are:
1. simile - similarity
2. metaphor - substitution
3. metonymy - association

1. The boss is acting like a tiger.
2. The boss is a tiger in staff meetings.
3. The tiger called another meeting for this afternoon.
(where we already have associated tiger with boss through previous experience and conversations)

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJimThe basics are:
1. simile - similarity
2. metaphor - substitution
3. metonymy - association

1. The boss is acting like a tiger.
2. The boss is a tiger in staff meetings.
3. The tiger called another meeting for this afternoon.
(where we already have associated tiger with boss through previous experience and conversations)

Wow, thank you very much CalifJim. When you put it this way, the identity of each name is so much clearer. Thanks a lot.

Simile, metaphor and metonymy

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