quote:

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Some say summer is for recreation,
But me? I prefer relaxation.
In my hammock I snore
And (to use metaphor)
I’m not lazy. It’s just aestivation.

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Tim had questioned whether this usage of aestivation (variant of estivation) could truly be called a "metaphor". I see his point. But is this figurative usage indeed a metaphor, and if not, what do you call it?

AEstivation: The state of torpidity induced by the heat and dryness of summer, as in certain snails; -- opposed to hibernation.

Hic,
I think it is a great metaphor!

If I had to distinguish them:

Metaphor: my laziness is me going underground for summer.

Figurative: I am literally going underground or somewhere you could almost call underground, for summer or a period you could almost call summer. (But not literally both underground and summer.)

I don't see it as a metaphor since you are saying that your relative inaction actually is aestivation. A metaphor is like "My brother is an albatross around my neck." Unless you actually happen to be related to sea birds, the albatross here is a metaphor meaning "burden" or whatever. In the limerick, you actually are inactive (or lazy, torpid, whatever) so the concept of a metaphor doesn't seem to apply.

"...like 'My brother is an albatross around my neck.'"

No, no, CJ, as/like comparisons are similes! So, you've got a metaphor used as a simile! Neat trick!

I thought that the "is/like" distinction was exactly the difference between the two terms.

"All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare) = metaphor, while

"All the world is like a stage" (Me, not nearly as effective) = simile.

No?