Simile
A simile is a figure of speech where one thing is said to be 'like' / 'as' another – as an explicit way of suggesting a comparison. In assigning science comparisons as similes, I have taken authors' uses of scare-quotes (e.g., the nucleus is the 'brain' of the cell) as well as terms like 'as', 'like', 'sort of', 'kind of' to be indicators that a comparison is being made and language is being use figuratively.
Read about similes in science discourse
Examples of similes for scientific concepts
The original sources are often paraphrased or edited below for brevity – the links will lead to the full quotation and source. (The indicator of figurative language such as 'like', 'as', 'kind of' may be omitted in the 'headline' versions listed here.)
Most of these examples are similes for scientific concepts – but sometimes referents from science and technology are used as similes (indicated ☜).
anatomy
animals
- comb of bristle-like teeth found on each arm of the horse-shoe (Charles Darwin)
- some worker bees are like lorry drivers (Professor Martin Bencsik, Nottingham Trent Polytechnic)
anthropology
- anthropological insight is ethnographer's magic (Undreamed Shores: The hidden heroines of British anthropology)
- anthropological research site is not the sociological equivalent of a cloud chamber (Clifford Geertz) ☜
- ethnographic schemes are like the periodic table (Clifford Geertz) ☜
- interest theory is like Newtonian mechanics (Clifford Geertz) ☜
- man is a sort of evolutionary deposit (Clifford Geertz) ☜
- meanings of symbols are as discoverable as the atomic weight of hydrogen or the function of the adrenal glands (Clifford Geertz) ☜
- political power spread out as radio waves spread from a transmitter (Clifford Geertz) ☜
- systems of religion act like scattered rays of light brought to focus in a lens (Clifford Geertz) ☜
astronomy
(see also: solar system; space exploration)
- a light beam just kind of gets sucked into a black hole (Prof. Andrew Pontzen, UCL)
- Betelgeuse is like an imbalanced washing machine (NASA)
- black holes in merged galaxies sink (Nature Podcast)
- black hole appears to evaporate ('Einstein's Fridge: The science of fire, ice and the universe')
- dying stars convulse as if revolting against their fate (George Gamow)
- eyes like black holes in the sky (Pink Floyd) ☜
- interplanetary dust particles are like the seeds of the Solar System ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- galactic spiral arms are like breeding grounds for stars (George Gamow)
- galaxy turns in space like a great wheel (Fred Hoyle)
- gravity kind of goes into overdrive near a black hole (Prof. Andrew Pontzen, UCL)
- heavy stars have a sort of onion skin structure (Prof. Marin Rees, University of Cambridge)
- librations cause the poles to describe paths similar to a twisted garland (Nicolaus Copernicus)
- neutron star is like a stellar wreck (Sir Patrick. Moore)
- nuked asteroid will be pushed away as if it were a rocket (BBC Inside Science)
- orbital circle of moon has four hinges (Nicolaus Copernicus)
- social media follower count is like the cosmic microwave background radiation (Prof. Manolo Martínez, Universitat de Barcelona) ☜
- something has got its foot on the accelerator pedal of the universe (Dr Matthew Bothwell, University of Cambridge)
- star breaks up like a gigantic Catherine wheel (Fred Hoyle)
- stellar X-rays are like a flag being waved (Prof. Paul Murdin, University of Cambridge)
- surface of Betelgeuse bounces like a plate of jelly (NASA)
- temporary moon is like a leaf caught in whirlpool in a stream ('Science in Action')
- view of galaxy restricted by a sort of fog (Fred Hoyle)
- we can see the gravitational footprints of dark matter (Dr Matthew Bothwell, University of Cambridge)
atoms and molecules
- atoms are engaged in a sort of chemical speed date to find the right partner ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- DNA is like a railway track ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
- during boiling molecules fly apart like a flock of frightened birds (George Gamow)
- empirical formula can be thought of as a list of ingredients (John Denker)
- gas molecules are like frantic bumper cars ('Einstein's Fridge: The science of fire, ice and the universe')
- liquid molecules crawl like worms (George Gamow)
- molecule in liquid is like a little drunkard (George Gamow)
- molecules bend and twist like tree branches in the wind (George Gamow)
- the electron shells of heavy atoms are like electron soup ('Superheavy: Making and breaking the periodic table')
- (trialkylsilyl)acetylene is like a giant umbrella-shaped protecting group (Prof. Michael Haley, University of Oregon)
- oxygen atom will kidnap electrons from two hydrogen atoms (George Gamow)
- water molecules are like people in an excited crowd (George Gamow)
- water molecules bump into one another like bumper cars ('Einstein's Fridge: The science of fire, ice and the universe')
biology
biochemistry
- biological messenger molecular is like a legal summons ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
- centromeric protein-A acts as a foundation stone for a protein complex ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
- centromeric protein-A acts as a cornerstone for a protein complex ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
brain and cognition
- executive functioning is like air traffic control (Dr Jules Montagu)
- long-term memory is like a corroded filing cabinet ('The Drugs That Changed Our Minds')
cells
- cells are built up like a Lego kit (Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee, Columbia University)
- cells are like unremarkable gloopy balloons (Dr Adam Rutherford)
- cell filopodia are worm-like (Dr. Hannah Critchlow , Magdalene College, Cambridge)
- Kupffer cells hang around like spiders on the walls ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- erythrocyte membrane cytoskeleton protein is like a spring ('Anemias, red cells, and the essential elements of red cell homeostasis')
- macrophages congregate like a massive Transformer ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- magnified cells are like a honeycomb (Robert Hooke)
- mitochondria as tiny batteries (Dr Michael Mosley)
- molecules on cell surfaces kind of act as flags (Nature podcast)
- nucleus is like the brain of the cell (secondary school student)
- nucleus is like the core of the cell (secondary school student)
- nuts contain something like thousands of shoeboxes (Dr Sze-Yen Tan, Deakin University)
- proton pumps are like tiny merry-go-rounds for ions ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- receptor on cell surface is like a magic key ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- shortening of the telomere is like the fraying of a shoelace ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- skin cells are like tiny chameleons ('Immune; How your body defends and protects you')
- surface abnormalities on red blood cells are polished away ('Anemias, red cells, and the essential elements of red cell homeostasis')
- T cells becomes paralysed (Prof. Dan Theodorescu, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute)
- the nucleus is the brain of the cell ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- receptors like tiny hands grab moving neutrophils ('Immune. How your body defends and protects you')
chemical bonding
- base-pairing is like holding hands ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
- hydrogen bonds are like those you have with colleagues ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
chemical substances and analysis
- Martian atmospheric gases sort of 'fingerprinted' ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- trace elements are the spice in the soup of life (Richard Breuer)
- water on comets and asteroids may have a different flavour ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
chemistry
disease, infection and the immune system
- a pentamer is a sort of antibody throwing-star ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- alternative complement pathway is like a showering of hand grenades ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- an immune response is like a fire (Dr Daria Hazuda, Merck Research Labs)
- antibodies are like harpoons or missiles which the cell sends out to kill a pathogen (Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee, Columbia University)
- cancer cells kind of slip in unannounced (Nature podcast)
- immune response sort of lights a fire (Dr Daria Hazuda, Merck Research Labs)
- innate immune system is like antiviral software (Dr James Kinross, Imperial College London)
- mast cells explode like dirty bombs ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- monoclonal antibodies are like demented postal workers ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- myotonic dystrophy messenger RNA acts like a kind of sponge ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
- natural killer cells act as sentinels ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- outbreak of disease is like a breach in a force field ('The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the quest to cure tuberculosis')
- receptor on cell surface is like a magic key ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- the antibody's tailpiece acts like a cattle prod ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- unvaccinated people are like fish in a barrel ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
Earth and geology
- Antarctica is the heartbeat of the world (Prof. Steven L. Chown, Monash University)
- catastrophism was like an epic poem ('Memory Practices in the Sciences')
- fossils are like a spilled watchmakers toolbox (Twitter)
- Jet Stream can meander like a river (Dr Jess Neumann, University of Reading)
- magnetosphere protects the earth like bubble wrap (Prof. Jim Al-Khalili, University of Surrey)
- the Earth's crust is its rind (William Gilbert)
- transverse section of mineral resembles typographic characters (James Hutton)
- uniformitarianism is like bookkeeping ('Memory Practices in the Sciences')
- volcanos send up columns of smoke like signals of a new period of violence (Charles Darwin)
electricity and electronics
- conduction electrons are like a crowd of displaced persons (George Gamow)
- Empress Cixi learnt the circuit board of the Qing court (Prof. Rana Mitter, Harvard University) ☜
- fulgurites are 'fossilized lightning' (Physics World)
elements and the periodic table
- stable superheavy elements seemed like ghosts ('Superheavy: Making and breaking the periodic table')
energy
- conservation of energy is like a sacred commandment (Max Planck)
- energy has different manifestations like Vishnu (Kit Gallagher, physics teacher)
- trust changes form like energy (Rachel Botsman, University of Oxford) ☜
environment and pollution
- emission control technologies sort of chew up pollution (Dr Eloise Marais, University College London)
ethology
- an animal's Unwelt is like a spider web (Jakob von Uexküll)
- spider webs are found in fly interchanges (Jakob von Uexküll)
evolution
- evolution is like a copycat ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- mutations are sort of the raw material for natural selection (Prof. Jay T. Lennon (Indiana University Bloomington)
- selection theory is like a Tibetan prayer-wheel (Ludwig von Bertalanffy)
excretion
- the skin acts like a handkerchief (Jacobus Cataneus de Lacumarcino)
fieldwork
- research schedule is like a split-brain ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
fossils
- fossils are like ancient medals and inscriptions (Sir John F. W. Herschel)
- petrified trees were like Lot's wife (Charles Darwin)
fundamental or subatomic particles
- electron-positron annihilation is like mutual suicide (quoted by George Gamow)
- electron-positron annihilation is like a wild marriage (quoted by George Gamow)
- elementary particles can be organised into kinship groups ('The Dream Universe: How fundamental physics lost its way')
genes and genetics
- bands in prepared chromosomes are like GPS with poor satellite coverage ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- chromosome is crammed with three hundred million genetic letters ('Science in Action')
- dead viruses sit like corpses ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- foreign DNA elements are a kind of fossil record ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
- gene was like molecular flypaper ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- genes are like Millwall supporters in Benidorm ('Drop the Dead Donkey')
- genetic control regions are like room thermostats ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- genome is like a graveyard filled with ghosts ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- genome resembles a musical score ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- inheriting potentially fatal disorder is like tossing a 10p piece (Dr Anne Child, St. George's Hospital, University of London)
- patterns of gene activity were pointing to a kind of biological cut-and-paste ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- radiation inducing mutations is like bombing (Mario Bunge)
- some regions of junk DNA are like sleeper agents ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
- Sonic hedgehog gene is a general purpose tool ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
geography
- seasonal rivers set up a kind of a siphon (Prof. John Kappelman, University of Texas)
gravitation
- gravity is a tendency to rejoin mother (Herbert Butterfield)
- gravity kind of goes into overdrive near a black hole (Prof. Andrew Pontzen, UCL)
light and optics
- laser used as a kind of spark plug (Dr Nick Hawker, First Light Fusion)
- Newton's theory of light was like a punch-drunk boxer ('Light Years: The extraordinary story of mankind' fascination with light')
- optical fibre is spaghetti-like (Nature podcast)
- photons were 'born' entangled like twins ('Light Years: The extraordinary story of mankind' fascination with light')
- total internal reflection can be frustrated (Prof. Slobodan Perović)
magnetism
- iron is like spiritual food to a lodestone (Robert Fludd)
- lodestone pines away with age (William Gilbert)
- scholars have a kind of magnet in the mind which tends to draw out data that confirms assumptions (Herbert Butterfield)
- sort of magnetic prison is used to imprison deuterium (Fred Hoyle)
materials
- Bessemer process was a sort of meteor ('Heroes of Invention and Discovery: Lives of eminent inventors and pioneers in science')
- crystal lattice is a pattern like wall paper (Professor Sir Harry Bhadeshia, University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University)
- crystal lattice is like grid-work (Professor Sir Harry Bhadeshia, University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University)
- laser creates a sort of ladder through a Bose-Einstein condensate ('Light Years. The extraordinary story of mankind' fascination with light')
- sealing wax flows like honey (George Gamow)
- snowflake imitates precisely the skeleton of the octahedron (Johannes Kepler)
- sulphur nanoparticles are bound in the cathode in a sort of spiderweb network (Prof. Matthew Hill, Monash University)
mathematics
mechanics and machines
- governor balls are attached by rods like a pair of tongs ('Heroes of Invention and Discovery')
medicine
- diagnosing a patient whose haematocrit is falling by five points a day necessitates a shotgun approach ('The Clinical Approach to the Patient with Anemia')
- ether and chloroform are like a witch's familiars ('Heroes of Invention and Discovery: Lives of eminent inventors and pioneers in science')
- hospital processed lithium like a small outback mining town ('Finding Sanity: John Cade, lithium and the taming of bipolar disorder')
- lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan assay is like a full body biopsy (Prof. Grant Theron, Stellenbosch University, RSA)
- news of vaccine spread like a virus ('The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the quest to cure tuberculosis') ☜
- patterns on brain scans resemble Captain Scarlet's Mysterons ('Immune. How your body defends and protects you')
- vaccine acts like a wanted poster (BBC News)
microbes
- bacterium is like a tiny attack submarine (Chemistry World)
- discovery learning methods spread like a virus (W. H. Brock, historian of science) ☜
- many bacteria have a sort of gearing system (Chemistry World)
- viruses are free genes (George Gamow)
microbiome
- the microbiome is like a community of chemical factories (Prof. Tim Spector, King's College London)
natural resources and industry
nature of science
- alternative conceptions are like weeds (William Gilbert)
- great discoveries grow like seeds cast by chance on fertile soil (Santiago Ramón y Cajal)
- interferons languished in a sort of scientific Siberia (British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology)
- science resembles carrying and fitting stones to a building (Neils Bohr)
- scientific research is not like drawing prizes at a lottery ('Heroes of Invention and Discovery: Lives of eminent inventors and pioneers in science')
- sometimes scientific discoveries occur as if by spontaneous generation (Santiago Ramón y Cajal)
- splitters and lumpers are the two feet of science (Gerald Holton)
- suppressing explanation in science is like killing the golden egg hen (Mario Bunge)
nucleic acids
- D.N.A. strands attract like magnets (Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, University of Cambridge)
- nucleic acids act as genetic moulds ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
particle physics / subatomic particles
- neutrons are like dark horses (George Gamow)
- plutonium is spark plug in hydrogen bomb ('Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma')
phase changes / physical phases
physics
physiology
- arteries force the blood forward as though a rope had been twisted round them (Herbert Butterfield)
- blastocyst is like a feral animal ('Immune:How your body defends and protects you')
- brain area is like a junction box ('The Drugs That Changed Our Minds')
- damaged nerves sort of scream (BBC Inside Science)
- endocrine system is like a Ferrari (Prof. Sadaf Farooqi ,University of Cambridge)
- extracellular matrix is a sort of wallpaper paste ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
- eye lens is a kind of secretary ('Dutch Light: Christiaan Huygens and the making of science in Europe')
- muscles cells soak up blood sugars like a sponge (Dr Michael Mosley)
- placenta acts like a gatekeeper (Prof. Rebecca Reynolds, University of Edinburgh)
- sensory organs serve as a sieve (Jakob von Uexküll)
- venous blood behaves like a fluttering frightened hen (Herbert Butterfield)
plants
- drum-like pedicel rotates like the hand of a clock (Charles Darwin)
- labellum is shaped like the mouth of a decoy (Charles Darwin)
- leaf canopy serves as an umbrella (Jakob von Uexküll)
- plant rostellum is like a boat (Charles Darwin)
- stigma closes on pollen grains like a forceps (Charles Darwin)
proteins
- proteins act as cellular gatekeepers ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
- proteins act as defensive weapons ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
- proteins act as freight vehicles ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
- proteins act like molecular swivels or molecular hinges ('Anemias, red cells, and the essential elements of red cell homeostasis')
- proteins are molecular labourers ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
- proteins can act as chemical controllers ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
- proteins can be pumps ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
quantum theory
- correspondence principle was used as a sort of spare wheel (Dr Michel Bitbol, CNRS/École Normale Supérieure, Paris)
- Schrödinger wave lives in configuration space (Prof. Dennis Dieks, Utrecht University)
radioactivity and nuclear reactions
solar system
(see also: astronomy – cosmology; space exploration)
- as the Sun rotates the magnetic field stretches and twists like a clock-spring (Fred Hoyle)
- comets are the fluff of the solar system ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- optical mining sweats water from asteroids and comets ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- outer layers of the sun are a sort of blanket (Fred Hoyle)
- magnetic field from the Sun to the planetary material behaves like elastic strings (Fred Hoyle)
- Martian atmospheric gases sort of 'fingerprinted' ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Saturn is like a gateway drug ('Dutch Light: Christiaan Huygens and the making of science in Europe')
- sun is like one member of an out of touch family (Fred Hoyle)
- the sun as if resting on a kingly throne (Nicolaus Copernicus)
- Venus rides on the back of a subsidiary crystalline sphere like a jewel ('The Origins of Modern Science 1300-1800')
- Venus is like a knot in a piece of wood ('The Origins of Modern Science 1300-1800')
- Venus might be called the twin sister of Earth (Fred Hoyle)
- water on comets and asteroids may have a different flavour ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
space exploration
- spacecraft flight path was like a cosmic pinball game ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- spacecraft 'sniffed' the asteroid's scent ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
technology
- wind farms rise like daffodils in Spring ('The Scramble for Rare Earths')
waves
- a high-frequency wave is like a Toblerone bar ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- a low-frequency wave is similar to a loosely coiled snake ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
Note on analogies, similes and metaphors.
In practice the precise demarcations between similes, metaphors (and anthropomorphisms) and analogies may not be absolutely clear. I have tried to follow the rule that if a comparison is set out to make a structural mapping clear (even if this is not spelt out as a mapping: e.g., an atom with its electrons is like a sun with its planets) this counts as an analogy. Where I do not think a comparison is an analogy, but the comparison is made explicit ("…as if…", "…like…": e.g., the atom, like a tiny solar system) I consider this a simile. When the audience is left to spot a comparison (rather than a literal identity) is being made (e.g., the oxygen atom, this tiny solar system) I class this a metaphor.
Anthropomorphism may be seen as a particular kind of metaphor where a metaphorical feature implies a non-human entity has human attributes (e.g., meteors can be impetuous).
I reserve the right to reassign some of these comparisons in due course!
