Simile and Metaphor—What’s the Difference?

While both similes and metaphors are used to make comparisons, the difference between similes and metaphors comes down to a word. Similes use the words like or as to compare things—“Life is like a box of chocolates.” In contrast, metaphors directly state a comparison—“Love is a battlefield.”

---

Here are some examples of similes and metaphors:

Life is like a box of chocolates. (Simile) My life is an open book. (Metaphor) That baby is as cute as a button!(Simile) Baby, you’re a firework.(Metaphor)

Simile vs. Metaphor Quiz

Both similes and metaphors add color and depth to language. Share your favorite similes and metaphors in the comments!

Discrete vs. Discreet: What’s the Difference?

• Discreet and discrete are homophones. They sound the same but they have different definitions.
• Discreet means careful or intentionally unobtrusive.
• Discrete means distinct or unconnected.

---

Homophones are nothing but trouble. They often top the lists of commonly confused words and spelling mistakes. There’s no way of knowing what they mean unless you hear them in context or see them in writing. But even when you see them in writing, many homophone pairs are spelled so similarly that you might not know which is which. “Discreet” and “discrete” is one of these pairs.

Discreet and Discrete: What’s the Difference?

“Discreet” has the better-known meaning: inconspicuous, proper, private, or unnoticeable. If you were a person who handles problems (especially potentially embarrassing problems) without calling attention to them, you might be considered a discreet person. You can also be discreet about your accomplishments, which would mean that you’re not boastful.

“Discrete,” on the other hand, means separate. If you’re into computers, you might be aware of the difference between discrete graphics cards and integrated ones. Techwalla.com describes a discrete graphics card as a “separate, or discrete, graphics processing unit (GPU) and separate graphics memory.” Sometimes, you can directly substitute the word “discrete” for the word “separate.” For example, if you have to put together a piece of furniture that comes in five separate parts, you could say that the five parts are discrete.

Discreet Definition and Examples

You can use the adjective “discreet” in several ways:

To describe a person with proper conduct, especially with regard to speaking:

“I’d like to see him a little more discreet at times,” she said. “I would hope he would learn a little more diplomacy.” —The Chronicle Telegram

To describe a person or a thing that’s not obstructive or easily noticeable:

The Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge was launched by the NIH division as part of its commitment to look for a non-invasive, discreet wearable technology not only for use by the authorities, but also for individuals. —Science World Report

To describe person or object that is not pretentious; a modest person or object:

Service is attentive without being intrusive, in keeping with the overall air of discreet, understated elegance in the whole establishment. —Director Magazine

The adverb form of “discreet” is “discreetly:”

No one has asked to recreate any of the receptions in Four Weddings and a Funeral but it could probably be discreetly arranged. —Radio Times

To act with discretion is to avoid causing offense or revealing sensitive information. “Discreetness” is also an acceptable noun form, but it’s less common than “discretion”:

Owners have designed their business around the idea that people will be willing to pay $250 a month to eat, drink and conduct business in a place that promises discreetness in an era when every moment is documented by somebody via cellphones and social media. —Arkansas Online

Discrete Definition and Examples

The adjective “discrete” can be used to describe

A person or object that is not connected with something; a part of something that is individual and separate:

If you’re a casual or mainstream gamer, you don’t need a discrete graphics card, Intel says. Instead, look at integrated graphics, which are getting more powerful by the day, said Gregory Bryant, vice president and general manager of Intel’s desktop clients platform. —PC World

In mathematics, having a finite number of elements: There are two types of variable—discrete and continuous. A discrete variable can only take certain values from a finite set. A continuous variable can take any value. —BBC

The adjective form of discrete is “discretely”:

For the Atrum 2013 and 2014 exploration programs, all coal seams intersected were sampled. Coal plies were sampled discretely on the basis of lithological characteristics and quality. —ABN Newswire

“Discreteness” is the noun form of “discrete:”

Acquiring knowledge almost always serves the public good. Deploying that knowledge is a 50-50 enterprise at best. Recognizing the discreteness of these two elements of science is the surest way to reconcile them. —The Washington Post

You might be annoyed with pair, pare, and pear, but at least discreet and discrete no longer have to annoy you. Discrete means separate, and discreet means “with caution” or “intentionally unobtrusive.” If it is still a little confusing, try to make a mnemonic. For example, the two E’s of discrete are separated by a T, so discrete means separate. What else can you think of to distinguish these two homophones from each other?

How Long Should a Paragraph Be?

Various educators teach rules governing the length of paragraphs. They may say that a paragraph should be 100 to 200 words long, or be no more than five or six sentences. But a good paragraph should not be measured in characters, words, or sentences. The true measure of your paragraphs should be ideas.

Your childhood teacher did not wrong you when he or she taught you that there should be three, or four, or five sentences in a paragraph. It is important to understand, however, that the aim in teaching this was not to impart a hard-and-fast rule of grammar, drawn from an authoritative-but-dusty book. The true aim of this strategy was to teach you that your ideas must be well supported to be persuasive and effective.

The model regarding paragraph length that your teacher undoubtedly taught you involves a topic sentence, a number of facts that support that core idea, and a concluding sentence. The proviso about the number of sentences between the topic sentence and the conclusion was not given to you because it was the magic formula for creating paragraphs of the perfect length; rather, your educator was attempting to give you a good reason to do adequate research on your topic. Academic writing yields the best examples of the topic-support-conclusion paragraph structure.

Recent research has provided a wealth of insight about how dogs came to be domesticated by humans and the roles they played in Native American culture. DNA studies on archaeological finds suggest that dogs may have been domesticated by humans as long as 40,000 years ago. When the first humans came to North America from Eurasia, at least 12,000 years ago, domesticated dogs came with them. They appear to have been highly prized by early North American hunter-gatherers and were their only animal companions for centuries, since there were no horses on the continent until the 16th century.

You can see from this example how a topic is introduced, supported, and then brought to its natural conclusion. Yet, not all writing is academic, and once you have learned the concept behind good paragraph construction—which is really the art of focused writing in disguise—you should know that there are times when paragraph “rules” can, and should, be broken.

How to Write Paragraphs People Want to Read

The fact of the matter is that although you may have numerous valid facts or descriptions related to your paragraph’s core idea, you may lose a reader’s attention if your paragraphs are too long. What’s more, if all of your paragraphs are long, you may lose opportunities to draw your reader in. Journalists, for example, know that their readers respond better to short paragraphs. News readers generally lose interest with long descriptions and even one-sentence paragraphs are considered both acceptable and impactful.

Firefighters rushed to First Avenue today to extinguish a blaze on the 1500 block. Anguished onlookers hoped that the flames would be subdued in time to rescue the building’s most prized inhabitants.

They weren’t.

The cat hospital was gone.

When it comes to maintaining a reader’s attention, a good rule of thumb might be to avoid writing more than five or six sentences in a paragraph before finding a logical place to break. That said, remember that the idea behind a paragraph might be short and sweet, or it might merit deeper explanation. There are no strict rules about how many words or lines your paragraphs should be, and there’s no need to lock your doors if you occasionally write long or short ones. The grammar police aren’t coming for you.

Talk Like a Copy Editor and Learn Something New in the Process

If a publisher offers you a kill fee, don’t panic! They’re not asking you to murder anyone. A kill fee is money paid for a piece of writing if they decide to kill it—i.e., not publish it. If you want to make it in the writing industry (and avoid criminal charges), you need to learn the lingo. Let’s start right now.

Basic Writing Jargon

Have you heard of a policeman’s beat? It’s the area he regularly patrols. For reporters, a beat might refer to a physical location or a topic that they often cover. To illustrate, Jody Reporter might specialize in politics while John Reporter covers health care. When a politician does something notable, the newspaper will automatically assign Jody to cover the story because her beat is politics.

Jody will investigate and submit her copy to the editor. Copy is the content of a news article. Now, that makes it clear what copy editors do! They read the material, point out errors, and suggest improvements to increase clarity, readability, and accuracy.

What happens if new information becomes available after Jody’s article appears in the newspaper? The journal might invite her to write a follow-up. Follow-ups present the news from a different angle, clarify facts, or reveal new developments in the original story.

Copy Editing Abbreviations

In Jody and John’s busy press office, who has time to say a whole phrase when deadlines loom? Try to guess the full terms expressed by these abbreviations: on spec, graf, and ezine.

What if John hasn’t received any requests from publishers recently? He might take the initiative and submit a story on spec—without a contract in place. He’s taking a chance, hoping that the publishers will accept his piece. “Spec” derives from speculation. A writer speculates, based on the type of publication and what it has published in the past, that a certain piece will work well for them. If all goes to plan for John, the publishers will like his work and offer him a fair price.

A graf is a paragraph. Did you guess correctly?

Ezine stands for “electronic magazine.” Ezines may publish exclusively online, or they may also have a print edition.

Writing Expressions You Already Use

Have journalistic phrases snuck into your vocabulary without you realizing it? For example, angles aren’t just for geometry class. An angle is the perspective of a story. To illustrate, Jody might write a news article reporting the statement released by Miami’s mayor about the recent hurricane. John’s angle would cover the situation at the local hospitals as they attempt to treat people hurt during the evacuation of the city. Several reporters might pursue different angles of the same topic.

Another term you may already use in everyday speech is “kicker”. Have you said “Here’s the kicker. . .” as you added a surprising detail to a personal account? In the world of journalism, a kicker is a small headline that accompanies the main headline. Usually, it appears on the left side of the title in a different font to set it apart from the rest of the text.

Important Acronyms

When copy editors talk in acronyms, you can easily get lost. Acronyms are a type of abbreviation formed by the first letters or components of a word, syllable, or phrase. Some common writing acronyms are nib, EOD, COB, and AP style.

Nib stands for “news in brief.” Newspapers use the term when, instead of a full-length article, they publish a short paragraph covering a topic. To see an example, visit the DW website to view “top stories in three minutes.”

EOD is short for “end of day.” Some employers use EOD to refer to the end of the 24-hour day (i.e., midnight). However, most jobs mean the end of the workday. A second acronym, COB (close of business) reflects this idea more accurately than EOD. Therefore, if the publication office closes at 6 pm, Jody would need to deliver her work before that time. (For courtesy’s sake, she may want to turn in work fifty to thirty minutes before closing.) Remote workers usually use the timezone of their employers.

AP Style is a term you are likely to encounter once you get your first writing job. No, it’s not related to the Gangnam Style made famous by the South Korean recording artist PSY. AP stands for Associated Press, which, according to Thought Co., is the world’s oldest news service. The service sets the standard for writing—from how to punctuate to what words to capitalize—for newspapers and digital publications. They publish the rules in the AP Stylebook. If you don’t write according to current AP guidelines, your work will stick out like a sore thumb!

Start your journalism career on the right foot. You’ll sound like a real copy editor if you learn these industry-specific terms.

“Do You Write Like an Introvert?” Quiz

Have you ever wondered how introverted or extroverted your work style is? This short quiz will help you understand whether your writing personality tends toward introversion or extroversion.

What kind of writing personality do you have? What parts of writing are easy or challenging for you? Share your stories in the comments.

Are You a Grammar Troll? Quiz

Whether you’re the friend that everyone calls when they have a grammar question or you’re just a big English language geek, you love reading about and talking about language online. When writing mistakes happen online, however, language and grammar can get pretty divisive—quickly. We all have a tendency to chime in, but not all of us are as productive as others. Find out how much of a grammar troll you are in our short, fun quiz.

What kind of writing personality do you have? What parts of writing are easy or challenging for you? Share your stories in the comments.

What Are the Best Ways to Deal with Difficult People?

Difficult people can quickly turn your dream job into a nightmare if you let them. However, your happiness and productivity are worth the fight. Let’s consider the best ways to deal with challenging personalities.

Start with Yourself

In “Man in the Mirror,” a song recorded by Michael Jackson, the lyrics provide an effective formula for improving your environment: “Take a look at yourself, and then make a change.” Self-examination might reveal that you are overreacting to a situation. For example, perhaps you don’t appreciate a particular coworker who gives harsh criticism. Stop for a moment and consider: what are the person’s motives? Instead of assuming she’s trying to bring you down, why not assume she’s trying to make you the best you can be? Adjusting your attitude can help you to see the bright side of irritating behavior.

The song continues: “It’s gonna feel real good.” Scientific evidence supports the claim. Emotional intelligence includes having empathy and good social skills. In 2013, a study published in Psychological Science found that people with high emotional intelligence made wise decisions. A 2008 study revealed that positive work interactions correlated with good health, a factor associated with few sick days and thus higher productivity. What author William Arthur Ward said was true: “When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.”

Communicate

You can’t expect anyone to read your mind. Often, problems arise when one person misunderstands the humor or intentions of another. You need to give your colleague the opportunity to make things right.

Approach your colleague and explain why his behavior offends you. Plan your words. Strive for the most palatable way to voice your complaint. You might role-play first with an objective party. Ask a friend to monitor your tone, your words, and your body language. When you speak to the difficult person in real life, carefully choose a time and place. (For instance, avoid addressing issues in the middle of stressful projects.) Find a neutral place (i.e., not your office) where you can discuss the matter privately.

Bill Eddy, President of High Conflict Institute, suggests the following formula: Express regret that you have to address the behavior. Explain how you plan to help the person. Give examples of how you want them to act and how new practices would be beneficial to both parties. Let’s look at an example scenario. Think about your workplace challenge and how you can adapt the script to deal with it.

You: . . ., I’m sorry that I have to bring this up, but the way you . . . makes me feel . . . On my end, I will . . . However, if in the future, you could . . . If you do, the process of . . . will work much more smoothly than it does now.

What to Do When Your Efforts Fail

You approached the employee about how his or her behavior. If there is no change or the situation worsens, what can you do?

Ignore the Bad Behavior

Just like young bullies, difficult adults may seek attention with bad behavior. To show them that you are unaffected, you can deflect insults by laughing along with their jokes or making a neutral retort as if you didn’t understand their rude intentions. Then, change the subject. Once they fail to get the attention they crave from you, they may move on to a new target.

Nasty colleague: I heard Benjamin took vacation leave because he was embarrassed about losing the Denman account.

You: The beach is a restful environment. I can’t wait for my next vacation.

Avoid the Person

If it’s possible without damaging your ability to work, limit the interaction you have with the difficult person. Withdraw from shared voluntary duties and choose projects and committees that don’t include him or her.

Involve the Superiors

Involving the superiors is the second-to-last resort. In the best case scenario, the boss can straighten out the issue for you. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, the situation becomes worse because the colleague resents you for getting him or her in trouble. Or, you might find that the boss sides with the culprit.

Find a New Job

The real last resort is quitting your job. You can either transfer to a different department within the same company or break ties altogether. You’ll have to weigh the cost of this decision. Is the problem significant enough to merit such drastic action? Will you enjoy another kind of work? Will you easily find another position? And if you do, how will you handle it if there are challenging people at the new workplace?

What are the best ways of dealing with difficult people at work? Will you confront the problem directly by approaching the person to talk about their behavior? Will you let a supervisor know and let them handle the problem? Or will you flee to greener pastures by finding a new job? If you weigh the pros and cons of each strategy carefully, you’ll likely find a solution that works for you.