A common definition of a metaphor can be described as a comparison that shows how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in another important way.

Stephenson explores the GUI as a metaphor in terms of the increasing interposition of abstractions between humans and the actual workings of devices ( in a similar manner to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ) and explains the beauty hackers feel in good-quality tools.

Bell often uses the metaphor of obesity for wealth, and frequently The Penguin becomes overweight and highly materialistic ; for example, becoming a stockbroker, running privatised prisons, or running a populist tabloid newspaper similar to Rupert Murdoch's The Sun.

Other cognitive scientists study subjects similar to conceptual metaphor under the labels " analogy " and " conceptual blending ".

For further analysis of idioms in which metaphor and metonymy work together, including an example very similar to the one given here, read this article entitled Metaphor and Metonymy in Contrast.

There is a similar problem with the use of simile and metaphor.

Modeling is based on a paint-program metaphor similar to Adobe Photoshop, with brushes, selection tools, etc.

Ivor Grattan-Guinness finds the effectiveness in question eminently reasonable, and explained in terms of analogy, generalisation, metaphor, and similar techniques

An English expression with a similar meaning is " Roman holiday ", a metaphor taken from the poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by George Gordon, Lord Byron, where a gladiator in Ancient Rome expects to be " butcher'd to make a Roman holiday " while the audience would take pleasure from watching his suffering.

In similar fashion, some of the contemporary naturalistic religions ( naturalism ) have evolved out of traditional Christianity and Judaism via process theology or using the term ‘ God ’ as a metaphor.

Unlike other integrated products Framework was not created as " plug-in " modules with similar look and feel but as a single windowing workspace representing a desktop metaphor that could manage and outline " Frames " sharing a common underlying format.

The term " The Law of the Jungle " is also used in a similar context, drawn from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book ( 1894 )-though in the society of jungle animals portrayed in that book and obviously meant as a metaphor for human society, that phrase referred to an intricate code of laws which Kipling describes in detail, and not at all to a lawless chaos.

A metaphor is similar to a simile, however this literary device makes a comparison without the use of " like " or " as ".

This is a mythical metaphor which alludes to rejuvenation of the entire cosmos, a concept fairly similar to that of Scandinavian myth of Ymir, a giant from whose body the gods created the world.

Callisto pontificates on the discoveries of the Laws of Thermodynamics, Clausius ' theorem, and Gibbs and Boltzmann, finally deciding that entropy is an adequate metaphor to apply to American consumerist society, " a similar tendency from the least to the most probable, from differentiation to sameness, from ordered individuality to a kind of chaos.

A variety of similar passages make it clear that the metaphor " gone out, he cannot be defined " ( atthangato so na pamanam eti ) refers equally to liberation in life.

The metaphor of stars as souls and Jesus as the greatest star is similar to the way Lucifer is referred to as a star fallen from heaven in Isaiah of the Old Testament.

Crusca means " bran " in Italian, which conveys the metaphor that its work is similar to winnowing.

* Swedish Pop group ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 with the song " Waterloo ", which uses the battle as a metaphor for a person surrendering to love similar to how Napoleon surrendered at Waterloo.

In the United Kingdom, the similar idiom " Westminster Bubble " ( or, more recently, " Westminster village ") is a metaphor for the willful self-isolation of policymakers.

An example of a primary metaphor could be that of Shakespeare's ' As You Like It ', where life is depicted as being similar to a theater.

Using a storm as a metaphor for the death of a president is similar to Shakespeare's use of a storm in King Lear.

Its user interface supports a " point-and-click " metaphor to execute commands from text, similar to clicking hyperlinks in a browser.

Similes are only occasionally useful in speech since they are poetic and how similar there actually are to a metaphor.

* Chinese boxes, may refer to nested ornamental boxes ; this usage is frequently as a metaphor for many layers of encapsulation, similar to Matryoshka dolls or the layers of an onion

The personal quality of Samuel Beckett is similar to qualities I had found in the plays.

The career of Charles 12, is obviously very similar to that of Napoleon.

A similar amateurish characteristic is revealed in Adams' failure to check the accuracy and authenticity of his informational sources.

But there is, nevertheless, always a subtle difference in the way in which supposedly similar opinions are held.

First of all there is ample area in East Greenwich already zoned in the classification similar to that which petitioner requested.

What was missing in the Governor's argument, as in so many similar arguments, was a premise which would enable one to make the ethical leap from what might be militarily desirable to what is right.

Although a similar situs for tangible property is mentioned in the statute, this is cancelled out by the provision that definite kinds of property `` and all other tangible property '' situated or being in any town is taxable where the property is situated.

The resulting setup, it was declared, `` would be similar to that which is in successful operation in a number of metropolitan counties as large or larger than Rhode Island ''.

Super-Set No. 2 is made up of similar exercises, but this time done with dumbbells, and using both `` moon '' and flat benches.

Chuck a length of 1/8'' '' dia. drill rod into a drill press or some similar turning device and while it is rotating file the end square and then file a slight taper 1/8'' '' long.

There is the free intra-city `` rent it here, leave it there '' service, as an example, the free delivery and collection at the airport, dockside or your hotel, luggage racks, touring documents and information and other similar services.

There is one exception to the above statement as has been pointed out, and that is that fluids can relax by flowing into fields of lower rates of shear, so the statement should be modified by stating that the mechanics are similar.

) This is, of course, a similar type of behavior to that indicated by birefringence studies.

The life history of the alkali bee is similar to that of Andrena, but the first activity of the adults does not take place until summer, and the individuals hibernate in the prepupal stage.

In litters of eight mice from similar parents, the number of mice with straight instead of wavy hair is an integer from 0 to 8.

This theorem is similar to the theorem of Kakutani that there exists a circumscribing cube around any closed, bounded convex set in Af.

In hunger stimulates man too the situation is very similar.

) These general facts are mentioned to make clear that the total situation in the two families is similar enough to warrant comparison.

It will be seen that where the scope is similar, the Athabascan ratios come out somewhat higher ( as indeed they ought to with a total ratio of 2.8 as against 3.5 or 4: 5 ) except for verbs, where alone the Athabascan ratio is lower.

For example, suppose another excess profits tax similar to prior laws is enacted, providing for carryover of excess profits credits.