A simile is a figure of speech which expresses a comparison or similarity of two objects through a word such as like, as, so, than. Using these connective words such ‘as’, ‘like’ and ‘so’, the simile makes it clear that the comparison is explicit, unlike in a metaphor. Her skin is like silk. A simile is a metaphor, but not all metaphors are similes.

People as opposite in every way as you could possibly be – I am talking here of Franz Kafka , famous very famous, very serious writer of yesteryear and Nicki Minaj – thought to say something about similes in their writing.
“In argument similes are like songs in love; they describe much, but prove nothing.” Franz Kafka
And then there is Nicki Minaj with this:
“Similes, metaphors and we pop pills.
Sick flow inundated with the doc bills.
Work hard, now we know how to top bills
in the middle of the street doing cartwheels.” Nicki Minaj

As I said in the introduction, a simile is a metaphor, but not all metaphors are similes. Metaphor is the broader term. In a literary sense metaphor is a rhetorical device that transfers the sense or aspects of one word on another word. A simile is a type of metaphor in which the comparison is made with the use of the word like or its equivalent to another.

common similes

As brave as a lion
As bright as a button
As brown as a berry
As busy as a beaver
As busy as a bee
As cheap as dirt
As clean as a whistle
As clear as a bell
As cute as a kitten
work like a dog

Similes are created all the time, and many similes appear in song lyrics.  Check this line from the song ‘Skyscraper’ by Demi Lovato
“Like I’m made of glass, like I’m made of paper”
Or this from Love You Like A Love Song – Selena Gomez:
“I-I love you like a love song, baby”
from Firework – Katy Perry:
“Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind…”
and then there is
Battlefield – Jordin Sparks, with this line
“Why does love always feel like a battlefield, a battlefield…”

Similes and metaphors are used in fiction and non-fiction writing,  poetry and songs, and they are used either to emphasis a particular point or to explain something in an effective way.  Both similes and metaphors are used to make comparisons and work by often connecting two items which might not otherwise be connected.

A simile is a figure of speech which expresses a comparison or similarity of two objects through a word such as like, as, so, than, etc. Using similes indicates that you are familiar with the language and prepared to use figurative language as well as literal so that you can express yourself more clearly.