1. The hum of the computer concerned Nick. Was the problem with the power supply or the hard drive? *
simile
onomatopoeia
2. I was just beginning to yawn with nerves . . . when I knew his tattarrattat at the door.—James Joyce, Ulysses *
onomatopoeia
alliteration
3. The old wooden rocking chair that Chloe brought home from the rummage sale was as comfortable as a bed of nails. *
pun
verbal irony
4. "This mattress is as soft as concrete," Eduardo complained as he tested the bed in his hotel room. *
verbal irony
pun
5. It's only forty miles to the ranch as the crow flies, but on the winding local roads, it takes about two hours. *
alliteration
idiom
6. After the stock market crash, many people's financial futures went into free fall. *
simile
alliteration
7. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary. . .—Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven" *
alliteration
personification
8. When Julie first joined the track team, she was afraid of jumping, but she got over that hurdle. *
allusion
pun
9. Joey remarked that the new book on anti-gravity was impossible to put down. *
pun
alliteration
10. A Chicago winter separates the men from the boys, especially newcomers from milder climes. The temperature frequently plunges below zero. *
simile
idiom
11. The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, was as shocking as an earthquake, leaving Americans feeling shaken and vulnerable. *
simile
alliteration
12. He wanted his friends to realize that life is a journey and not a destination.—Lynn H. Hough *
metaphor
simile
13. After Marcy cooked and served a scrumptious dinner, Dad boasted that she is the Julia Child of our family.
pun
allusion
14. Let the rain kiss you.—Langston Hughes, "April Rain Song" *
personification
onomatopoeia
15. So we beat on . . . borne back ceaselessly into the past.—F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby *
personification
alliteration
16. From the warmth and safety of their beds, the villagers listened to the screaming storm until daybreak. Then there was silence. *
allusion
personification
17. The water made a sound like kittens lapping.—Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling *
simile
metaphor
18. In May 2014, when wildfires threatened parts of San Diego County in California, firefighters worked around the clock in an effort to control the blaze. *
idiom
verbal irony
19. We held our breath as the basketball made an arc toward the basket and then sunk into the net with a satisfying whoosh. *
onomatopoeia
simile
20. Elderly American ladies leaning on their canes listed toward me like towers of Pisa.—Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita *
simile
pun