Metaphor List

A metaphor is commonly known as an analogy between two objects or ideas, described by using another word. Metaphors also denote rhetorical figures of speech which have their effects on words through comparison, resemblance and association with many other things. Other figures of speech like hyperbole, simile and antithesis are all types of metaphors which also achieve their effects through the same way. There are three more types of metaphors which are very commonly used in the English language and they are, allegory, catachresis and a parable. These describe sentences and meanings using story illustrations and other examples from literature. Metaphor is that figure of speech in literature which has the maximum number of categories and types as there is such a wide use of it made by users. The following article is a compilation of most of these in the form of a metaphor list, thus read on.

List of Common Metaphors

There are some common metaphors which are used almost by everyone in daily life and they go quite unnoticed. Find out which are the metaphors which you end up using many times from the ones mentioned in the metaphor list given below. From this list of metaphors you can make your own elementary metaphor list to be taught to kids from the elementary school, so go ahead and have fun.

• A heart of stone
• Reality is an enemy
• He has the heart of a lion
• You are the sun in my sky
• Ideas are water
• You are the light in my life
• I'm dead tired
• You had better pull your socks up
• Drowning in the sea
• Words are false idols
• Jumping for joy
• Apple of my eye
• It is raining cats and dogs
• Information travels faster in this modern age as our days start crawling away
• Life has a tendency to come back and bite you in the ass
• Fear is a beast that feeds on attention
• A riverboat shall be my horse
• A light in a sea of darkness
• Strength and dignity are her clothing
• Thoughts are a storm
• A laugh in a sea of sadness
• The noise is music to my ears
• He swam in the sea of diamonds
• She ran like the Wind
• Your friendship is the picture to my frame
• Truth is food
• Authority is a chair, it needs legs to stand up
• The pigeons fountained into the air
• His hair was bone white
• It's raining men
• Ideas are wings
• The sea is a hungry dog
• He has a voice of a wolf
• Crocodiles' teeth are white daggers
• Fire is day, when it goes out it's night
• Strong as an ox
• School is a gateway to adulthood
• Leaping with laughter

Extended Metaphor List
An extended metaphor is grammatically defined as a metaphor that is extended through a stanza or an entire poem, often using multiple comparisons of unlike objects and ideas. Here are a few examples of extended metaphors in the following metaphor list.

"Life is a mere dream, a fleeting shadow on a cloudy day."

"The winds were ocean waves, thrashing against the trees limbs. The gales remained thereafter, only ceasing when the sun went down. Their waves clashed brilliantly with the water beneath, bringing foam and dying leaves to the shore."

"He slithered into town quietly so no one would notice when he dug his fangs in and slowly poisoned their minds."

"The teacher descended upon the exams, sank his talons into their pages, ripped the answers to shreds, and then, perching in his chair, began to digest."

"The silence was a blood-curdling scream of anguish, set out to break my soul."

"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune, without the words,
And never stops at all,"

"And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm."

"I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me."

Emily Dickinson

Love Metaphor List
There are many metaphors used to describe love as it is an abstract feeling which each human being wishes to describe through his/her own experience. Following is a list of metaphors which compare love to a number of things, thus keep reading.

• Love is a growing garland
• She is bewitching
• Love is A Thrill Ride
• I'm Heartbroken
• We are one
• Love is a fragile flower opening to the warmth of spring
• That kindled love in his heart
• We'll just have to go our separate ways
• Love is a camera, full of memories
• He was consumed by love
• Theirs is a perfect match
• I don't think this relationship is going anywhere
• Love is a lemon - either bitter of sweet
• It's been a long, bumpy road
• Our marriage is on the rocks
• Love is an experiment
• My heart's on fire
• She is his latest flame
• I don't want to get burned again
• Love is in the air
• We were made for each other
• She is my better half
• I am charmed by her

Rap Metaphor List
Metaphors are also used in rap lyrics for hip hop music. Take a look at such rap metaphors mentioned in the metaphor list below.

"My rep grows like the nose of Pinocchio, Just because I've mastered the art of braggadocio."

"Coming from the deep black like the Loch Ness, now bring apocalypse like the Heart of Darkness."

"Holding my raps, Olden is golden and black, extolling virtues of rap, with monkeys riding my back."

"Phased from your original plan, you deviated, I alleviated the pain, with a long-term goal."

"Claiming that you've got a new style, your attempts are futile, oooh child, your puerile brain waves are sterile."

"I gaze into the sky and measure planets by parallax, check out the retrograde motion."

"Like Slick Rick the Ruler I'm cooler than a ice brick, got soul like those afro picks, with the black fist, and leave a crowd dripping like John the Baptist."

"Wes Jackson had the vision, and brought it to fruition with a little hard work, perseverance and intuition."

With such a wide variety of examples displayed in the above metaphor list, I am sure you must have come across a few metaphors used by you. Metaphors are fun to use, provided you make the right comparisons, so have fun being creative with them.