Tuesday, 22 July 2008

“Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.”

I admit it. I am a sitemeter [sic] groupie.

So it is I have discovered I get more hits from people looking for similes and metaphors than all the other pearls of wisdom that I discard with the casualness of a gravedigger turning a sod.

So, in a rare moment of lucidity, I thought there was room for a blog devoted to the simile and metaphor. In an equally lucid moment, I thought it might be called ‘Metaphor & Simile’. (Sometimes I stagger myself with my logic.)

Just to check on the competition I ran a Google Blog search and found no such blog exists. So I have claimed it.

In the course of my search I did find bloggers who had individual posts dedicated to the topic, like here, (though this seems to contain only M&S in songs). However, I did find one pearl on Grammar Sucks, to quote:

‘Every year, English teachers from across the country submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country.’

The title for this post is from there, as are these tasters:

The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 pm. at a speed of 35 mph.


The question is how to set the blog up. I feel that it is not a venture for a single individual and maybe something like One Book would be a solution. Somewhere that people can post metaphors or similes that have caught their attention for whatever reason. Or whatever.

I shall have to think some more about how to make it work but any suggestions would be gratefully received.

(Picture of head from here.)

3 comments:

Stuart and Gabrielle said...

How can you set up a blog about metaphor and simile and not mention your old (well, not as old as you) university friend Stuart, you unfaithful bastard. You know how upset I get about the overuse of metaphor by many modern writers who, it seems, have been on a creative writing course and been told that everything has to be "like" something else.
If you get this up and running, I demand the status of "visiting professor" or "simile czar".
Yours, grumbling, like a very annoyed thing ...

Jane Smith said...

Look, Stuart, you can't be the Simile Czar because that's Me. Like.

I once read a book-blurb which asserted that Mother Teresa (sp?) had won the Nobel Peach Prize. I do hope that she did: it sounds much tastier than that other thing she got.

(Incidentally, David, I've just blogged about reversion clauses, with two related posts coming up tomorrow and the next day, all for you. You may now adore me further.)

Jane

DOT said...

You two have given me an idea for a new TV show called 'Czars in their eyes' What do you think?

I love the notion of the Nobbley Peach Prize, Jane. But to whom should it be awarded? Any suggestions?