A metaphor is a word or phrase used as a substitution for another. This can denote a belief by the writer that the words, phrases, or ideas are related. This can often be used when the analogy is used to create imagery or emphasis. Often, we call metaphors “figures of speech.”
Metaphors are similar to but different from similes. Similes equate between two things, whereas metaphors use a descriptor to draw imagery. Often, similes introduce themselves with the words like or as.
Jack worked hard and was paid so well that he drowned in money. (metaphor)
Jack worked so hard and was paid so well that he felt like he was drowning in money. (simile)
Caitlyn was a duck in the water when doing homework; it was easy. (metaphor)
Caitlyn’s homework was so easy she handled it like water off a duck’s back. (simile)
Sadie could jump so high that it was a cannon shot when she spiked the volleyball. (metaphor)
Sadie could spike the ball so hard that it sounded like a cannon shot. (simile)
Caroline was a Picasso when she decorated rooms. (metaphor)
Caroline’s artistic flare let her decorate rooms like a Picasso painting. (simile)
Ralph felt terrible and seemed to have fallen through a black hole of depression. (metaphor)
Ralph felt terrible and often felt like he was falling through space into a black hole when he was depressed. (simile)
If you hurry too much when performing tasks, then you often do them in a slapdash way. Slapdash refers to things done in a careless or slipshod way. We all know when things are done sloppily or poorly, but slapdash is not a common way of denoting the situation.
The adjective slapdash is an old word dating back to early English. According to Webster’s Dictionary, it was first used by the British poet John Dryden in the phrase “Down I put the notes slap-dash” in 1676. From this reference, we might assume slapdash is a portmanteau of the words slap and dash.
The FBI’s investigation of the charges against the councilman was slapdash and not very thorough.
I asked Kris to make up his bed, but he did a slapdash job at best.
Kathy was so rushed to finish painting the walls that she did a slapdash job and spilled paint on the carpet.
Bob slowed down when doing the nailing so he would not be accused of doing a slapdash repair job.
