Question

Given below are some idiomatic comparisons with ‘like’. Can you guess their meaning? Look them up in a good dictionary. You won’t find them under ‘like’. Which words will you look up to find these comparisons?

1. Like a bull in a china shop (Here, china means delicate articles of porcelain)
2. Like a cat on a hot tin roof.
3. Like a red rag to a bull.
4. Like a cat that stole the cream.
5. Like water off a duck’s back.
6. Memory like a sieve.

Using your imagination write more comparisons using ‘like’

Answer 1

1. Like a cat on a hot tin roof: Very nervous or restless.
2. Like a red rag to a bull: Something bound to provoke anger.
3. Like a cat that stole the cream: Looking very pleased, especially self-satisfied.
4. Like water off a duck's back: Criticism or insults that do not affect the person they were directed at.
5. Memory like a sieve: A very poor memory, forgetting things easily.
6. Like shooting fish in a barrel: Doing something very easy, with guaranteed success.
7. Like a kid in a candy store: Being very excited and enthusiastic, often about many of choices.
8. Like watching paint dry: Describing something uninteresting.
9. Like a peacock in full display: Acting proudly or showily, trying to impress others.