LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

  My Random House Webster's Dictionary defined simile as "a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in she is like a rose.” I remember (those were the days!) reading in 2003, the Bonita Daily News , Florida, on July 11, this comparison or simile with ugly: “That new pharmacy is an assault to my eyes; it is everything the LPA is supposed to stop! It is a big box, ugly as sin itself, a monstrosity.” This led me to delve deeply and find more "ugly" possibilities in current English:  Ugly as sin (a toad,  butt ugly, fuck, the devil, shit, death, a face that would stop a clock, as cat shit, piss-ugly, pug ugly, hell, as it gets, as can be ).       I did not stop here, remember this is a bilingual Blog. How does "feo" fare in Spanish? And I found the following:  Más feo que un pecado (Picio, Carracuca, un dolor, el hambre, el bu, Quasimodo,  que pegarle a un padre [con un calcetín sudado], feo del culo, feo con...

  Let me muse about a situation where an English friend of mine is a well-known dresser, dandy, and fop who sets the standard of men's fashion in the English-speaking world. His suits are impeccable and true works of art admired by all. As his reputation as a dapper has crossed borders and even reached Spain, I asked him to let me borrow one of his suits to cut a good figure at a soirée in Madrid where King Felipe VI would be attending. My friend lent me one of his best suits and I flew back to Spain and went straight to a good tailor to make some adjustments. At the fitting, I asked for the pants to be slim-cut, and lappels narrowed to conform to modern taste. The tailor agreed to shorten the jacket and sleeves as well. At the soirée, people commented that although the suit was okey, it was nothing to write home about and some dared remark that they were baffled by my friend's reputation as a dandy. Of course, I never mentioned my alterations to it. Translations may compare to...

Similes or comparisons Más largo que un día sin pan is a Spanish simile where something long is compared to a day without eating which may seem long to a hungry person. Similes compare two things using the words as or like. Similes are found in both languages in speech and in writing: Spanish : Claro como el agua. Hablar como un loro. Comer como una lima. Sordo como una tapia. Oscuro como boca de lobo. Más fresco que una lechuga. Pelearse como el perro y el gato Más contento que unas Pascuas English : As busy as a bee (or beaver.) As happy as a king (or clam or lark.) As brave as a lion. As clear as a bell. Dry as a bone. As sick as a dog. As deaf as a post. As blind as a bat. Fight like cats and dogs. (Los franceses dicen que alguien que habla el francés mal, lo habla como una vaca española: "Parler français comme une vache espagnole."