61 Inspiring Simile Quotes

In the vast world of literature and speech, similes serve as vivid bridges between the familiar and the imaginative, allowing us to draw parallels that enrich our understanding. They capture the essence of emotions and experiences in such relatable terms that they often stick with us long after we've encountered them. In this collection, we've curated 61 of the most inspiring simile quotes that span various themes and evoke a range of feelings. Whether you're searching for motivation, reflection, or a touch of beauty, these quotes promise to leave an indelible mark on your thoughts, much like a painter's brushstrokes linger on a canvas. Join us on this journey through words as we explore the art of comparison and the profound insights they bestow upon us.

1. “A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.” - Steve Martin

2. “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

3. “Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.” - Lemony Snicket

4. “To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.” - Thomas Paine

5. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” - Albert Einstein

6. “Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it.” - Nicholas Sparks

7. “The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.” - Edsger W. Dijkstra

8. “He'd felt like a jack-o-lantern for the past few days, as if his guts had been yanked out with a fork and dumped in a heap while a grinning smile stayed plastered on his face.” - Cassandra Clare

9. “Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.” - Jonathan Swift

10. “A novel rough draft is like bread dough; you need to beat the crap out of it for it to rise.” - Chris Baty

11. “Insanity hovered close at hand, like an eager waiter at an expensive restaurant.” - Arundhati Roy

12. “Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on.” - Terry Pratchett

13. “He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination.” - Andrew Lang

14. “The only way I can describe the extent of my anxiety is to say that I felt as if I were pregnant with a rock.” - Katharine Graham

15. “High School is like a spork: it's a crappy spoon and a crappy fork, so in the end it's just plain useless.” - John Mayer

16. “Looking for an entirely reliable informant is like looking for a chaste mistress.” - Cassandra Clare

17. “Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one but they think each others stink.” - Simone Elkeles

18. “Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.” - Emma Smith

19. “Ignorance is a lot like alcohol: the more you have of it, the less you are able to see its effect on you.” - Jay Bylsma

20. “Some people are like Slinkies. They aren't really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to my face when I push them down a flight of stairs.” - Patricia Briggs

21. “Life, he realize, was much like a song. In the beginning there is mystery, in the end there is confirmation, but it's in the middle where all the emotion resides to make the whole thing worthwhile.” - Nicholas Sparks

22. “A girl without braids is like a city without bridges.” - Roman Payne

23. “The wind blowing through my ripped clothes was so cold that I felt like a Percysicle.” - Rick Riordan

24. “Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?” - Mark Twain

25. “Peeing is like a good book in that it is very, very hard to stop once you start.” - John Green

26. “I respond, thoughts dropping away, like pebbles plopping one by one in water, sinking down, down into dark oblivion.” - Sophie Jordan

27. “You," Madeline said, her voice hollow and wheezing, "are like a bad case of herpes, wizard. You're inconvenient, embarassing, no real threat, and you simply will not go away.” - Jim Butcher

28. “And an inky-colored despair of rejection enveloped me like the black tortilla of depression around a pain burrito.” - Christopher Moore

29. “Asking an eight-year-old girl if something is a little over-the-top is like asking a Texan if there are too many jalapenos in the salsa. The answer is always no." -Liberty Jones” - Lisa Kleypas

30. “It was a smooth silvery voice that matched her hair. It had a tiny tinkle in it, like bells in a doll's house. I thought that was silly as soon as I thought of it.” - Raymond Chandler

31. “And than suddenly he was there, charging down the hallway like death in a cowboy duster.” - Richelle Mead

32. “And now, my poor old woman, why are you crying so bitterly? It is autumn. The leaves are falling from the trees like burning tears- the wind howls. Why must you mimic them?” - Mervyn Peake

33. “Love is like the human appendix. You take it for granted while it's there, but when it's suddenly gone you're forced to endure horrible pain that can only be alleviated through drugs.” - Reverend Jen

34. “I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows- slow, dumb, and bright red.” - Rick Riordan

35. “Today was a very cold and bitter day, as cold and bitter as a cup of hot chocolate, if the cup of hot chocolate had vinegar added to it and were placed in a refrigerator for several hours.” - Lemony Snicket

36. “You know, a cell phone's like a guy; if you don't plug him in every night, charge him good, you got nothing at all.” - Catherine Coulter

37. “Miracles are like pimples, because once you start looking for them you find more than you ever dreamed you'd see.” - Lemony Snicket

38. “Sex is like air; it's not important unless you aren't getting any.” - John Callahan

39. “Telling someone about what a symbol means is like telling someone how music should make them feel.” - Dan Brown

40. “Anxiety's like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you very far.” - Jodi Picoult

41. “Like a lamp, dispelling the darkness of ignorance” - Dalai Lama XIV

42. “Where to start?Everything cracks and shakes,The air trembles with similes,No one world's better than another;the earth moans with metaphors.” - Osip Mandelstam

43. “Yes, boys are a little like shoes. Why? Well...They can be useful. But mainly...They are nice to look at. Getting the right one can be a lovely accessory to an outfit. There are times when you couldn't do without them. And there are times when you'd rather do without them. Get the wrong ones and they can hurt. There are many types and often the ones that look the nicest are completely unpractical.” - Rachel Hill

44. “I belonged in Idle Valley like a pearl onion on a banana split.” - Raymond Chandler

45. “Trying to reason with an addict was like trying to blow out a lightbulb.” - Anne Lamott

46. “A great idea should always be left to steep like loose tea leaves in a teapot for a while to make sure that the tea will be strong enough and that the idea truly is a great one.” - Phoebe Stone

47. “Deciding whether or not to trust a person is like deciding whether or not to climb a tree because you might get a wonderful view from the highest branch or you might simply get covered in sap and for this reason many people choose to spend their time alone and indoors where it is harder to get a splinter.” - Lemony Snicket

48. “Augustin stood there looking down at him and cursed him speaking slowly clearly bitterly and contemptuously and cursing as steadily as though he were dumping manure on a field lifting it with a dung fork out of a wagon.” - Ernest Hemingway

49. “Indian summer is like a woman.” - Grace Metalious

50. “Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.” - E.O. Wilson

51. “Lyra had never seen such a sight, never heard such a bellow; it was like a mountain laughing.” - Philip Pullman

52. “His lips made a grim twist that was like the joyless cousin of a smile.” - Laini Talyor

53. “If she were here I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off her. I would hold her so close she'd beg me to let her breathe. I'd kiss her so hard she'd plead for mercy. I'd unfasten her clothing and lie with her on that hard bed, and what was between us would be as far above the ordinary congress between man and woman as the stars are above their pale reflections in the lake below.” - Juliet Marillier

54. “...childlike wonder and awe have died. The scenery and poetry and music of the majesty of God have dried up like a forgotten peach at the back of the refrigerator.” - John Piper

55. “A prayerless Christian is like a bus driver trying alone to push his bus out of a rut because he doesn't know Clark Kent is on board.” - John Piper

56. “Lugh's decided to stick with bein mad at me. It's like traveling with a storm cloud. One of them that hangs low an heavy. The kind that builds an broods an keeps on buildin an brood in till everybody's got a sick headache.” - Moira Young

57. “His nostrils flared, he was breathing like a picadored bull.” - Jerry Spinelli

58. “...as vivid and fabulous as a unicorn...” - Anne Rivers Siddons

59. “My chest bumps like a dryer with shoes in it.” - David Foster Wallace

60. “Did you ever get the feeling that everything was too perfect? Like the moment was so good that something had to be wrong? Kind of like the way a fish sees that bright, shiny lure just before it chomps down and gets hauled out of water to become someone's lunch.” - Neal Shusterman

61. “Emotions unreel in her like spools of cotton.” - Louise Erdrich