Name That Figurative Language
The moon peeked through the clouds.
What type of figurative language is this?
Answer: Personification — the moon is given the human action of peeking.
The test was a piece of cake.
What does this idiom mean in real life?
Answer: The test was very easy.
Create your own simile using the word LIKE.
Answer: Any correctly formed simile using the word like. Example: The puppy was like a little tornado running through the house.
He ran as fast as a cheetah.
What type of figurative language is this?
Answer: Simile — it compares him to a cheetah using the word as.
She cried a river when the movie ended.
What does this hyperbole mean in real life?
Answer: She cried a lot — not literally a river.
Create your own simile using the word AS.
Answer: Any correctly formed simile using the word as. Example: She was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
I am so hungry I could eat the whole cafeteria.
What type of figurative language is this?
Answer: Hyperbole — it is an extreme exaggeration.
The thunder growled angrily across the sky.
What human quality is the thunder being given?
Answer: The ability to growl angrily — an emotion and sound a human or animal would make.
Create your own hyperbole about being tired.
Answer: Any correctly formed hyperbole. Example: I was so tired I could have slept for a hundred years.
She has a heart of gold.
What type of figurative language is this?
Answer: Metaphor — it says her heart IS gold without using like or as.
Life is a rollercoaster.
What does this metaphor mean?
Answer: Life has many ups and downs just like a rollercoaster ride.
Create your own metaphor about school.
Answer: Any correctly formed metaphor. Example: School is a launchpad that sends us into the future.
— It is time to hit the books before the test tomorrow.
What type of figurative language is this and what does it actually mean?
Answer: Idiom — hit the books means to study.
I have a frog in my throat.
What does this idiom mean and why do you think people started saying it?
Answer: It means your voice sounds hoarse or scratchy. People use it because having a frog in your throat sounds like it would make it hard to speak clearly.
Create your own example of personification about the rain.
Answer: Any correctly formed personification. Example: The rain tapped impatiently on the window asking to be let inside.