Similies Quiz

1. Cold as a dead man’s nose. Reveal

G. Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale (probably this collection's most prolific contributor)

2. She feeds his ego like a goose destined for pâté. Reveal

B. Maureen Dowd (presidential contests are ripe with similes, including this one about presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich’s third wife, Calista)

3. Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields. Reveal

M. Jackson Browne, “Running on Empty” (song lyrics, including this musical ode to the road, are full of similes)

4. The happiest women, like the happiest nations, have no history. Reveal

E. George Eliot

5. Happy as a bee. Reveal

C. Noel Coward

6. Good skiing is like good sex; it is all about instincts and movement and taking risks. Reveal

H. Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer, quoted in St. Germain bio-play, Dr. Ruth All the Way.

7. My passion is as mustard strong; / I sit all sober sad; / Drunk as a piper all day long, / Or like a March-hare mad. Reveal

L. John Gay, A New Song of Similes (John Gay is responsible for many more commonly used clichés like “busy as a bee,” “dead as a door-nail,” “lighter than a feather,” “smooth as glass,” and “warm as any toast.”)

8. Records fell like ripe apples on a windy day. Reveal

I. E.B. White

9. He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food. Reveal

K. Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely (Mystery writers love similes, and his colorful similes have been collected by a tag tied to his name: Chandlerisms.)

10. Being a writer in Hollywood is like going into Hitler's Eagle's Nest with a great idea for a bar mitzvah. Reveal

J. David Mamet

11. A passion that had moved into his body, like a stranger. Reveal

F. Arthur Miller, A View from the Bridge.

12. Virtue is a kind of health, beauty and good habit of the soul. Reveal

A. Plato

13. Husbands are like fires. They go out when unattended. Reveal

D. Zsa Zsa Gabor