title: Similes on the Internet have explanations.
abstract: We searched the Internet for expressions linking topics, such as crime, and vehicles, such as disease, as similes (crime is like a disease) and as metaphors (crime is a disease). We counted the number of times the expressions were accompanied by explanations (crime is like a disease because it spreads by direct personal influence). Similes were more likely than metaphors to be accompanied by explanations. Similes may be preferred if a writer wants to express an out-of-the-ordinary relation between the topic and the vehicle.
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roncero
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Smyth
mesh_terms: D003210:Concept Formation; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D019365:Metaphor; D010153:Paired-Associate Learning; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D012660:Semantics; D014956:Writing