Figures of speech (or figurative language) usually either state or imply a comparison between two things that are basically unlike but have at least one thing in common. If a device is cone shaped with an opening at the top, for example, you might say that it looks like a volcano; or you might refer to a person given to unpredictable fits of temper as an emotional volcano.
Figures of speech can clarify the unfamiliar by relating a new and difficult concept to a familiar one or by translating the abstract into the concrete. In the process, figures of speech make writing more colorful and graphic.
Use figurative language with care. A figure of speech should not attract more attention to itself than to the point you are making.
The whine of the engine sounded like ten thousand cats having their tails pulled by ten thousand mischievous children.
Figures of speech should be fresh, original, and vivid. Trite figures of speech, called cliches, defeat that purpose. A surprise that comes "like a bolt out of the blue" is not much of a surprise. It is better to use no figure of speech than to use a stale one. (See also mixed metaphors.)
TYPES OF FIGURES OF SPEECH
Analogy is a comparison between two objects or concepts in order to show ways in which they are similar. In effect, analogies say "A is to B as C is to D." The resemblance between these concepts is partial but close enough to provide a striking way of illuminating the relationship the writer wishes to establish.
Pollution is to the environment as cancer is to the body.
Hyperbole is extreme exaggeration used to achieve an effect or emphasis.
He murdered me on the tennis court.
Simile is a direct comparison of two essentially unlike things, linking them with the word like or as.
Like a small birdcage, her hat rested precariously on her head, and I expected to see the feathers take flight at any moment.
Metaphor is a figure of speech that points out similarities between two things by treating them as though they were the same thing. Metaphor states that the thing being described is the thing to which it is being compared.
He is the sales department's utility infielder.
