#simile — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #simile, aggregated by home.social.
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Some of my ideas have the approximate life expectancy of a cute and tiny ice sculpture of a panda if it fell into a freshly made steaming mug of Earl Grey tea.
Others, like this one, last long enough for me to write them down.
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“A simile is just a metaphor with the scaffolding still up”*…
From the 1964 textbook Examine Your EnglishRussell Samora has been fooling around with figures of speech; with his colleagues at The Pudding, he’s fielded a fascinating analysis of of that comparative workhorse, the simile…
Similes are all around us. But, if you haven’t considered this figure of speech since grade school, here’s a refresher: similes compare a shared quality of two things, often using “like” or “as.”
I pulled every simile in the form “as ___ as ___” from tens of thousands of fiction books for the top 500 most common adjectives… I thought it would be a trivial exercise, but the more I poked around, the more questions I had…
Samora explains how similes are structured and how they are used (and with what relative frequency) in literature. He examines some of the most common– and several special cases (“The Ironic Ones”). And he explains his methodology and sources… all in the context of a lovely interactive data visualization.
It’s as cool as hell: “Comparisons as Predictable as the Sunrise,” from @pudding.cool.
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As we agree with Steve Martin that “a day without sunshine is like, you know, night,” we might recall that it was on this date in 1789 that Richard Kirwan published his essay in support of the phlogiston theory (the belief, that dates to alchemical times, in the existence of a fire-like element (dubbed “phlogiston”) contained within combustible bodies and released during burning. Kirwan was among the last of its advocates.
A well-regarded scientist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Kirwan met and corresponded with Black, Lavoisier, Priestley, and Cavendish. Indeed, while scientific history remembers him as a defender of an incorrect theory, his work probably spurred Priestley and Lavoisier, who respectively discovered and named the actual elemental agent of combustion, oxygen.
But Kirwan is also remembered for a personal eccentricity (one of many) that led to some referring to him (all too poignantly) as “crazy as a bed bug”: he hated bugs (especially flies). Kirwan paid his servants a bounty for each one they killed.
#bugs #Cavendish #culture #dataVisualization #eccentricity #figureOfSpeech #history #infographics #language #Lavoisier #literature #phlogiston #Priestley #RichardKirwan #Science #simile #similes -
“A simile is just a metaphor with the scaffolding still up”*…
From the 1964 textbook Examine Your EnglishRussell Samora has been fooling around with figures of speech; with his colleagues at The Pudding, he’s fielded a fascinating analysis of of that comparative workhorse, the simile…
Similes are all around us. But, if you haven’t considered this figure of speech since grade school, here’s a refresher: similes compare a shared quality of two things, often using “like” or “as.”
I pulled every simile in the form “as ___ as ___” from tens of thousands of fiction books for the top 500 most common adjectives… I thought it would be a trivial exercise, but the more I poked around, the more questions I had…
Samora explains how similes are structured and how they are used (and with what relative frequency) in literature. He examines some of the most common– and several special cases (“The Ironic Ones”). And he explains his methodology and sources… all in the context of a lovely interactive data visualization.
It’s as cool as hell: “Comparisons as Predictable as the Sunrise,” from @pudding.cool.
###
As we agree with Steve Martin that “a day without sunshine is like, you know, night,” we might recall that it was on this date in 1789 that Richard Kirwan published his essay in support of the phlogiston theory (the belief, that dates to alchemical times, in the existence of a fire-like element (dubbed “phlogiston”) contained within combustible bodies and released during burning. Kirwan was among the last of its advocates.
A well-regarded scientist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Kirwan met and corresponded with Black, Lavoisier, Priestley, and Cavendish. Indeed, while scientific history remembers him as a defender of an incorrect theory, his work probably spurred Priestley and Lavoisier, who respectively discovered and named the actual elemental agent of combustion, oxygen.
But Kirwan is also remembered for a personal eccentricity (one of many) that led to some referring to him (all too poignantly) as “crazy as a bed bug”: he hated bugs (especially flies). Kirwan paid his servants a bounty for each one they killed.
#bugs #Cavendish #culture #dataVisualization #eccentricity #figureOfSpeech #history #infographics #language #Lavoisier #literature #phlogiston #Priestley #RichardKirwan #Science #simile #similes -
"Hell is one of the most versatile nouns in the dataset. However, most of them have nothing to do with hell itself."
Russell Samora and Shelly Tan for The Pudding: https://pudding.cool/2026/05/similes/
#Longreads #Language #Words #Simile #FigureOfSpeech #Communication #Literature #Fiction
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"Hell is one of the most versatile nouns in the dataset. However, most of them have nothing to do with hell itself."
Russell Samora and Shelly Tan for The Pudding: https://pudding.cool/2026/05/similes/
#Longreads #Language #Words #Simile #FigureOfSpeech #Communication #Literature #Fiction
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“like a good metaphor for the current world”
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@ReadingFaithfully_org Curious about two things, if you happen to know:
1. Whether there's a similar or contrasting #simile based on #aptitude, #skill, or #talent rather than #position, #commitment, or #faith.
2. Whether there's a similar or contrasting #simile dealing with which qualities to cultivate within oneself. Maybe something to the effect of "When X is already well-developed, cultivate X still further; when Y is (already) well-developed, cultivate X first or together with Y, &c."? -
@ReadingFaithfully_org Curious about two things, if you happen to know:
1. Whether there's a similar or contrasting #simile based on #aptitude, #skill, or #talent rather than #position, #commitment, or #faith.
2. Whether there's a similar or contrasting #simile dealing with which qualities to cultivate within oneself. Maybe something to the effect of "When X is already well-developed, cultivate X still further; when Y is (already) well-developed, cultivate X first or together with Y, &c."? -
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Driving the perfect length of Ireland,
Like a worn fold in a newspaper—Medbh McGuckian, from "To a Cuckoo at Coolanlough"
https://textworksite.com/2009/05/09/a-saturday-woman-poet-medbh-mc-guckian/#poetry #Ireland #metaphor #geography #IrishPoetry #MedbhMcGuckian #simile
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Driving the perfect length of Ireland,
Like a worn fold in a newspaper—Medbh McGuckian, from "To a Cuckoo at Coolanlough"
https://textworksite.com/2009/05/09/a-saturday-woman-poet-medbh-mc-guckian/#poetry #Ireland #metaphor #geography #IrishPoetry #MedbhMcGuckian #simile
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A quotation from Terry Pratchett
His movements could be called cat-like, except that he did not stop to spray urine up against things.
Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Night Watch (2002)Sourcing, notes: wist.info/pratchett-terry/5030…
#quote #quotes #quotation #cat #pratchett #terrypratchett #dexterity #lithe #simile
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@ReadingFaithfully_org What a wonderful #simile ! I especially like that #refinement or #purification is a clearly implied possibility without direct mention that that relies on the hearers' (or now more likely, readers') knowledge about gold so that they have to do the rest of the work themselves (and are thereby more likely to remember).
#fiveHindrances #5hindrances #hindrances #hindrance #sensualDesire #illWill #slothAndTorpor #restlessnessAndRemorse #doubt
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Japanese haiku breaking the rules that other countries impose on it!
寒月へ導火線めく終電車
looking like a fuse
to the deep winter moon
last train of the dayMasayo Adachi
Magao #haiku collection, Furansu-dō, Tokyo 2024
https://fayaoyagi.wordpress.com/2025/02/04/todays-haiku-february-4-2025/#like-22865 -
Similes Countdown (longplay) for the ZX81
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4D6qPLjUNY
#SimilesCountdown #ZX81 #Educational #EducationalGame #Edutainment #Education #Quiz #Similes #Simile #Longplay #AVCSoftware
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The tentative sound
Shyness is the tentative sound of the orchestra tuning up before the symphony begins. It is a beautiful, fractured piece of music in itself. It is the orchestra attempting to find its shared intent and is over all too quickly if you ask me.
~ Nick Cave, from Issue #68*hunh*That’s a really striking simile. (That’s a simile, right?) This goes on the pile of things I wish I’d written.
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#68 #Hunh #NickCave #Simile -
#PennedPossibilities 335 — Do you use metaphors in your writing?
Of course. Here’s one from my novella “The Temperance Ridge Runaways” -
“Johnny Cash was singing “Ring of Fire” when the truck shuddered like a hen that just got humped by a rooster.”
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#PennedPossibilities 335 — Do you use metaphors in your writing?
Of course. Here’s one from my novella “The Temperance Ridge Runaways” -
“Johnny Cash was singing “Ring of Fire” when the truck shuddered like a hen that just got humped by a rooster.”
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
AN 8.34 Khettasutta: The Field
“A seed sown in a field that possesses eight factors does not bring forth abundant fruits…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/an-8-34-khettasutta-the-field/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#Sangha #simile #AnguttaraNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
AN 8.34 Khettasutta: The Field
“A seed sown in a field that possesses eight factors does not bring forth abundant fruits…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/an-8-34-khettasutta-the-field/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#Sangha #simile #AnguttaraNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 35.238 Āsīvisopamasutta: The Simile of the Vipers
“Suppose there were four lethal poisonous vipers.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-35-238-asivisopamasutta-the-simile-of-the-vipers/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#aggregates #Arahant #elements #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 35.238 Āsīvisopamasutta: The Simile of the Vipers
“Suppose there were four lethal poisonous vipers.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-35-238-asivisopamasutta-the-simile-of-the-vipers/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#aggregates #Arahant #elements #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
Dhp 144–5 From… Daṇḍavagga: The Rod
“Like a fine horse under the whip…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/dhp-144-5-from-dandavagga-the-rod/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#simile #urgency #Dhammapada #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
Dhp 144–5 From… Daṇḍavagga: The Rod
“Like a fine horse under the whip…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/dhp-144-5-from-dandavagga-the-rod/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#simile #urgency #Dhammapada #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 47.6 Sakuṇagghisutta: The Hawk
“Once in the past a hawk suddenly swooped down and seized a quail.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-47-6-sakunagghisutta-the-hawk/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#FoundationsOfMindfulness #SensePleasures #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 47.6 Sakuṇagghisutta: The Hawk
“Once in the past a hawk suddenly swooped down and seized a quail.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-47-6-sakunagghisutta-the-hawk/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#FoundationsOfMindfulness #SensePleasures #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 23.2 Sattasutta: Sentient Beings
“Suppose some boys or girls were playing with sandcastles.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-23-2-sattasutta-sentient-beings/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#aggregates #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 23.2 Sattasutta: Sentient Beings
“Suppose some boys or girls were playing with sandcastles.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-23-2-sattasutta-sentient-beings/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#aggregates #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
Dhp 58–59 From… Puppha Vagga: Flowers
“The disciple of the Supreme Buddha shines brightly with wisdom.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/dhp-58-59-from-puppha-vagga-flowers/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#disciples #simile #Dhammapada #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
Dhp 58–59 From… Puppha Vagga: Flowers
“The disciple of the Supreme Buddha shines brightly with wisdom.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/dhp-58-59-from-puppha-vagga-flowers/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#disciples #simile #Dhammapada #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
AN 4.105 Ambasutta: Mangoes
“And how is a person ripe and seems ripe?…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/an-4-105-ambasutta-mangoes/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#judging #simile #AnguttaraNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
AN 4.105 Ambasutta: Mangoes
“And how is a person ripe and seems ripe?…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/an-4-105-ambasutta-mangoes/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#judging #simile #AnguttaraNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
AN 6.45 Iṇasutta: Debt
“Such imprisonment is true suffering, from which a wise one is released.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/an-6-45-inasutta-debt/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#energy #faith #simile #wisdom #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
AN 6.45 Iṇasutta: Debt
“Such imprisonment is true suffering, from which a wise one is released.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/an-6-45-inasutta-debt/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#energy #faith #simile #wisdom #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 12.63 Puttamaṁsa Sutta: A Son’s Flesh
“Suppose a couple, husband and wife, taking meager provisions, were to travel through a desert.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-12-63-puttamamsa-sutta-a-sons-flesh/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#contact #food #intention #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 35.246 Vīṇopamasutta: The Simile of the Lute
“I’ve had enough with this lute, man. Bring me just that sound.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-35-246-vinopamasutta-the-simile-of-the-lute/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#SenseBases #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 17.3 Kummasutta: A Turtle
“But my dear turtle, I hope you’re not hurt or injured!…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-17-3-kummasutta-a-turtle/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#gain #honor #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
MN 64 From… Mahāmālukyasutta: The Longer Discourse With Māluṅkya
“Suppose the river Ganges was full to the brim so a crow could drink from it.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/mn-64-from-mahamalukyasutta-the-longer-discourse-with-malunkya/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#listening #simile #MajjhimaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
SN 45.152 Rukkhasutta: Trees
“Suppose a tree slants, slopes, and inclines to the east.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/sn-45-152-rukkhasutta-trees/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#nibbāna #NobleEightfoldPath #simile #SamyuttaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
Dhp 91 From… Arahantavagga: The Perfected Ones
“The mindful apply themselves…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/dhp-91-from-arahantavagga-the-perfected-ones/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#mindfulness #simile #Dhammapada #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
AN 8.19 Pahārādasutta: Pahārāda
“The great ocean has but one taste, the taste of salt.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/an-8-19-paharadasutta-paharada/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#asuras #Dhamma #Saṅgha #simile #AnguttaraNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
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🌱 Today’s #DailySutta:
MN 63 Cūḷa Māluṅkyovāda Sutta: The Shorter Exhortation to Māluṅkya
“The man would die and those things would still remain unknown to him.…”
Read the sutta
📖 https://daily.readingfaithfully.org/mn-63-cula-malunkyovada-sutta-the-shorter-exhortation-to-malunkya/?=MDSGet these by email
✉ https://daily.readingfaithfully.org?=MSUDS#arrow #simile #MajjhimaNikaya #Theravada #PaliCanon #RealBuddhaQuotes #Suttas #Dhamma #Buddhism #Buddha
