Similes in speechwriting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a simile as:

 

“a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses)”

 

Of course, there also is a Wikipedia page. And there is a brief, humorous article by John Cadley in the August 2019 issue of Toastmaster Magazine on page 30 titled Silly Similes - those wonderful idioms that don’t say what they mean.

 

A song by John Prine titled It’s A Big Old Goofy World is stitched together from similes. You can listen to it here at YouTube. And Mickey Cheatham posted about it in his STEAMD blog on January 1, 2021. The first verse is:

 

“Up in the morning
Work like a dog
Is better than sitting
Like a bump on a log
Mind all your manners
Be quiet as a mouse
Someday you'll own a home
That's as big as a house”

 

Chapter 17 – Professional Speechwriting: Metaphor, Simile, and Theme by Lynn Meade in her Advanced Public Speaking book has a discussion of similies (and more on metaphors).

 

The mouse cartoon came from OpenClipArt.