What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?

Similes and metaphors are often confused with one another
as they are both forms of comparison and are similar.

A
simile means to be like something. When people are conveying a
message to someone else they often use similes to help the other person understand what
it is they are saying. For example, someone may ask you how your trip to the dentist
was. You may respond that you feel like a beaten up punching bag.
This is an example of a simile. 

A metaphor takes it a step
further. Instead of saying something is like another, we say
it is another. "An education is the passport
to your future" is an example of a metaphor. You are not saying it is like
a passport, but it is a
passport.

Here are some more
examples:

Examples
of
Simile:

• She
  swins like a fish.


• He's
  as hairy as a gorilla.


• Peter
  laughs like a hyena.


• Mr. John is as
  wise as an owl.
  

Examples
of Metaphor:

• He
  was a tornado, blasting his way through the opposing team.
  


• He was a lion in the fight.
  


• The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.