Metaphors...

You are "the sunshine of my life"?

I'm much better with similes.

Maybe examples would help. "Drowning in money" is a metaphor. You couldn't literally drown in a pile of money, but the image of someone with so much money they sink into it gets the point across.

A simile uses "like" or "as" to draw forth a similar image... "His pockets were as deep as an ocean" would also mean a man with lots of money.

That's very good both of you.... yes.

So the other example above your message Wy would be a metaphor, right?

Oh and your examples you gave if you hadn't interpreted I thought it meant something else, so thanks.

Here's one you'll like Wong....

"I'll love you until China and Africa meet."
(now THAT's a long time)!

Another popular one in English is
"No man is an island"

Meaning no one can cut themselves off completely from humanity.

Yep. "You are the sunshine of my life" is a metaphor. "Your smile is like sunshine" is a simile.

I understand now, thanks.

Oh - so are you telling us to stop Mr. or Ms. Wong?

You know, we could just go on like this forever

The early bird catches the worm you know!

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

(just kidding around wong) :wink:

No that's not what I meant cha sorry about that I just worded myself incorrectly.

What I meant to say was I understand the meaning of the word "metaphor" now and before I had no clue.

By all means Cha be my guest and keep goin I like to hear more interesting metaphors...

A (paraphrased) line from a popular video game:

"My daddy always said never look a gift horse in the mouth... and by God, he never did!"

So, what the difference between metaphor and idioms?, and could a

metaphor be an idiom and vice versa ?

I guess that and idiom can be a metaphor, not sure though

Nav -
With a metaphor, someone who is a non-native speaker of the language in question can be derived from the words, i.e. "she complained until the cows came home"
People in any culture that raises cows know the cows don't come home until the end of the day.

Now an idiom - is something, as I see it, is something that is understood in your native language from hearing/using it so many times, that would lose something in the translation, such as "kick the bucket" for dying. The meaning wouldn't be immediately clear.

I saw an ad for a local cafeteria the other day - one side was english, the other side spanish.

On the english side - it showed a ventriloquists dummy saying "choosing Luby's (the cafeteria name) is a 'no brainer'"

One the spanish side - the same wooden dummy was saying, in spanish "choosing Luby's is not hard"

I don't know enough spanish to know whether "no brainer" doesn't translate into spanish, or what.

If it doesn't translate well, then I supposed it's an idiom.
To me though the term "no brainer" was obvious, I would have thought is was a metaphor.

Wong - As a non-native speaker of english, if you heard the phrase "no brainer", what would you initially make of it?

Sorry Cha I think you're asking the wrong person here. I speak English pretty well and know what "no brainer" means.

However at the same time I can tell you from a NON-ENGLISH native speaker perspective because I'm familiar with those people and if I told them "no brainer." As their grammar would let them say, "What you mean by that?"

Anyways to put it simply Navi...

Idiom = A set expression e.g. sh$t happens...

It's not the best of examples however it's an idea of how it can be used.