--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Very Like a Whale One thing that…" description: "\"“Very Like a Whale One thing that literature would be greatly the better for Would be a more restricted employment by authors of simile and metaphor. A..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/ogden-nash-1286_books_very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literat_2416686.jpg" --- # Very Like a Whale One thing that literature would be… ![“Very Like a Whale One thing that literature would be greatly the better for Would be a more restricted employment by authors of simile and metaphor. Authors of all races, be they Greeks, Romans, Teutons or Celts, Can'ts seem just to say that anything is the thing it is but have to go out of their…” quote by Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/ogden-nash-1286_books_very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literat_2416686.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/ogden-nash-1286_books_very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literat_2416686.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/ogden-nash-1286_books_very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literat_2416686.jpg) > ““Very Like a Whale One thing that literature would be greatly the better for Would be a more restricted employment by authors of simile and metaphor. Authors of all races, be they Greeks, Romans, Teutons or Celts, Can'ts seem just to say that anything is the thing it is but have to go out of their way to say that it is like something else. What foes it mean when we are told That the Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold? In the first place, George Gordon Byron had had enough experience To know that it probably wasn't just one Assyrian, it was a lot of Assyrians. However, as too many arguments are apt to induce apoplexy and thus hinder longevity, We'll let it pass as one Assyrian for the sake of brevity. Now then, this particular Assyrian, the one whose cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold, Just what does the poet mean when he says he came down like a wolf on the fold? In heaven and earth more than is dreamed of in our philosophy there are a great many things, But i don't imagine that among then there is a wolf with purple and gold cohorts or purple and gold anythings. No, no, Lord Byron, before I'll believe that this Assyrian was actually like a wolf I must have some kind of proof; Did he run on all fours and did he have a hairy tail and a big red mouth and big white teeth and did he say Woof woof? Frankly I think it very unlikely, and all you were entitled to say, at the very most, Was that the Assyrian cohorts came down like a lot of Assyrian cohorts about to destroy the Hebrew host. But that wasn't fancy enough for Lord Byron, oh dear me no, he had to invent a lot of figures of speech and then interpolate them, With the result that whenever you mention Old Testament soldiers to people they say Oh yes, they're the ones that a lot of wolves dressed up in gold and purple ate them. That's the kind of thing that's being done all the time by poets, from Homer to Tennyson; They're always comparing ladies to lilies and veal to venison, And they always say things like that the snow is a white blanket after a winter storm. Oh it is, is it, all right then, you sleep under a six-inch blanket of snow and I'll sleep under a half-inch blanket of unpoetical blanket material and we'll see which one keeps warm, And after that maybe you'll begin to comprehend dimly, What I mean by too much metaphor and simile.”” [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author critiques overuse of similes and metaphors, arguing they obscure meaning and become absurd when stretched beyond reality. **In simple terms:** Too many comparisons make language confusing. Key Takeaway Use clear, precise language. Themes literature clarity figurative language poetry communication Mood critical analytical humorous Type critical humorous When to use this quote - academic writing - creative writing - literary criticism - teaching writing Key Concepts simile metaphor overextension Questions to Reflect On - How can writers balance vividness with clarity? - When does a metaphor become a distraction? A Different Perspective Excessive figurative language can alienate readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authors Simile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors-simile-4635310/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Figures of speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures-of-speech/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Heaven and earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-and-earth/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Like Whale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-whale-401442/) [Like Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-wolf/) [Metaphor Simile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor-simile-1193538/) [Old testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-testament/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Simile Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simile-metaphor-4635311/) [White teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-teeth/) [Winter Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter-storm/) [Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word/) ## Related quotes > [One thing that literature would be greatly the better for Would be a more restricted employment by authors of simile and>metaphor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/one-thing-that-literature-would-be-greatly-the-better-for-would-be-a/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I use a lot of similes and metaphors when I work, simply because it's my best way of describing a building or a scene.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/i-use-a-lot-of-similes-and-metaphors-when-i-work-simply-because-it-s/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [The artist has to be something like a whale swimming with his mouth wide open, absorbing everything until he has what he really needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/the-artist-has-to-be-something-like-a-whale-swimming-with-his-mouth/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) > [“He was only for the joyous days, the days of courage, when she could share with him all the good things he brought with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/he-was-only-for-the-joyous-days-the-days-of-courage-when-she-could/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“She consumed books like a whale eats krill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/she-consumed-books-like-a-whale-eats-krill/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“Shearwater sighed, like a whale in the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/shearwater-sighed-like-a-whale-in-the-night/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [When you're looking around for metaphor or simile, I do think it's often helpful to keep inside the world of the book, to gather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-newman/when-you-re-looking-around-for-metaphor-or-simile-i-do-think-it-s/) [Leigh Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-newman/) > [I'll buy metaphor, but simile's a cop-out used by scaredycats who won't commit to anything. Simile's for cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-garner/i-ll-buy-metaphor-but-simile-s-a-cop-out-used-by-scaredycats-who-won/) [Alan Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-garner/) > [“Metaphors failed him, then. He had gone beyond the world of metaphor and simile into the place of things that are , and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/metaphors-failed-him-then-he-had-gone-beyond-the-world-of-metaphor/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“At its simplest, the parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-its-simplest-the-parable-is-a-metaphor-or-simile-drawn-from-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/never-use-a-metaphor-simile-or-other-figure-of-speech-which-you-are-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Never use a long word where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/never-use-a-metaphor-simile-or-other-figure-of-speech-which-you-are/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He had gone beyond the world of metaphor & simile into the place of things that are, and it was changing him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/he-had-gone-beyond-the-world-of-metaphor-simile-into-the-place-of/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Winter storms are worse, but autumn's are more frequent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/winter-storms-are-worse-but-autumn-s-are-more-frequent/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [My fans have been the power behind me and beside me, they have been holding me awake, and so they are my winter storm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarja-turunen/my-fans-have-been-the-power-behind-me-and-beside-me-they-have-been/) [Tarja Turunen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarja-turunen/) ## More by Ogden Nash > [There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/there-is-only-one-way-to-achieve-happiness-on-this-terrestrial-ball/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [The sky is now indelible ink, The branches reft asunder; But you and I we do not shrink; We love the lovely thunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-sky-is-now-indelible-ink-the-branches-reft-asunder-but-you-and-i/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Middle-aged life is merry, and I love to lead it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/middle-aged-life-is-merry-and-i-love-to-lead-it/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [When a lady's erotic life is vexed God knows what God is coming next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/when-a-lady-s-erotic-life-is-vexed-god-knows-what-god-is-coming-next/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“Love is a word that is constantly heard, Hate is a word that is not. 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He drinks because she scolds, he thinks; She thinks she scolds because he drinks; And nether will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/which-the-chicken-and-which-the-egg-he-drinks-because-she-scolds-he/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts suitable to the twenty-fifth of December.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blowing-other-people-to-pieces/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) [Explore all 261 Ogden Nash quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Very Like a Whale One thing that literature would be greatly the better for Would be a more restricted employment by authors of simile and metaphor. Authors of all races, be they Greeks, Romans, Teutons or Celts, Can'ts seem just to say that anything is the thing it is but have to go out of their way to say that it is like something else. What foes it mean when we are told That the Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold? In the first place, George Gordon Byron had had enough experience To know that it probably wasn't just one Assyrian, it was a lot of Assyrians. However, as too many arguments are apt to induce apoplexy and thus hinder longevity, We'll let it pass as one Assyrian for the sake of brevity. Now then, this particular Assyrian, the one whose cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold, Just what does the poet mean when he says he came down like a wolf on the fold? In heaven and earth more than is dreamed of in our philosophy there are a great many things, But i don't imagine that among then there is a wolf with purple and gold cohorts or purple and gold anythings. No, no, Lord Byron, before I'll believe that this Assyrian was actually like a wolf I must have some kind of proof; Did he run on all fours and did he have a hairy tail and a big red mouth and big white teeth and did he say Woof woof? Frankly I think it very unlikely, and all you were entitled to say, at the very most, Was that the Assyrian cohorts came down like a lot of Assyrian cohorts about to destroy the Hebrew host. But that wasn't fancy enough for Lord Byron, oh dear me no, he had to invent a lot of figures of speech and then interpolate them, With the result that whenever you mention Old Testament soldiers to people they say Oh yes, they're the ones that a lot of wolves dressed up in gold and purple ate them. That's the kind of thing that's being done all the time by poets, from Homer to Tennyson; They're always comparing ladies to lilies and veal to venison, And they always say things like that the snow is a white blanket after a winter storm. Oh it is, is it, all right then, you sleep under a six-inch blanket of snow and I'll sleep under a half-inch blanket of unpoetical blanket material and we'll see which one keeps warm, And after that maybe you'll begin to comprehend dimly, What I mean by too much metaphor and simile.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ogden Nash" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literature-would-be-greatly-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literature-would-be-greatly-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/ogden-nash-1286_books_very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literat_2416686.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/ogden-nash-1286_books_very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literat_2416686.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/ogden-nash-1286_books_very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literat_2416686.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Very Like a Whale One thing that literature would be greatly the better for Would be a more restricted…” — Ogden Nash", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ogden Nash", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Very Like a Whale One thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literature-would-be-greatly-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/very-like-a-whale-one-thing-that-literature-would-be-greatly-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```