Book excerpt: What is an an-al-o-gy? Its a similarity between like features of two things which are quite different from each other, on which, a comparison may be based: the Analogy between the heart and a pump. Writers use analogies as a literary technique as a play-on-words or for the purpose of wit or amusement. What is a simile? A simile is (dictionary form) a figure of speech that makes a comparison showing similarities between two different things, the resemblance is drawn by use of like or as (they are) like two peas in a pod (he is) as a slippery as an eel.