Splash's Second Easy As Pie Simile Quiz

Answer: a fish

If you are a strong swimmer, then you might be said to "swim like a fish".

The family name "Fish" can be traced back to Middle English or Norse names given to fishermen.

In a census in the USA in 2010, Fish was the 1,425th most common name. Since I know you just want to ask: the most popular family name in the USA over several census periods was Smith. Of course we cannot leave it there: in the entire world the most common family name in 2022 was Wang.

Answer: a chimney

Much though environmentalists would like to see an end to it, in many parts of the world heating and cooking is done on fires causing smoke that is drawn away up chimneys. The smoke from many chimneys can be plainly seen.

Smoke from fires is harmful to our health, largely through very small elements called particulates. Many places, particularly in Western countries, have banned the use of fuels that cause smoke - usually in 'smokeless zones'. High levels of smoke high in the atmosphere can lead to "acid rain".

Answer: an angel

To sing like an angel, or to have the voice of an angel, means to be a very good singer indeed. The saying is often applied to women in any type of singing.

When 'SmoothRadio' in the UK produced a list in January 2023 of "The 30 greatest female singers of all time, ranked in order of pure vocal ability", they placed Whitney Houston at number one.

Answer: a bell

Clear as a bell is a saying that dates to the 17th Century. It is based on the clarity of a bell ringing.

The first bells, like so many other inventions, originated in China and date to about 3500BC. Bells are among the loudest of musical instruments, so it is little accident that they came to be adopted by the Christian church in about 400AD to summon people to worship at a time when few ordinary people had watches or clocks. Many are still symbolically used for that purpose.

Bells can be heard a long way off. In London, England, only those who can hear the ringing of the Bow Bells can claim to be a true Cockney - and they can be heard up to six miles away.

Answer: a clam

Why clams should be happy is a question as hard as nails to answer.

The phrase dates to 1833 when it appeared in a memoir 'The Harpe's Head- A Legend of Kentucky' by James Hall. This was a fictional story of historical characters in Kentucky.

A clam is a shellfish that can be eaten raw or cooked. They taste, apparently, like oysters.

Answer: a rock

Rocks are hard, heavy things that are often hard to damage. Someone said to be "as solid as a rock" is regarded as being very stable and reliable.

Rock is the hard material that makes up mountains. Individual rocks can be of varying size. If you can pick it up and throw it, it is generally called "a rock" in America, but in Britain it is more often known as "a stone". To complicate matters, "boulders" are large rocks that cannot be easily moved.

Rocks and stones are both referred to in the Christian Bible.

Answer: as gold

Gold is a rare and precious metal. Traditionally the wealth of a nation or individual was measured by the amount of gold they possessed. A person said to be "as good as gold" is thought to be pleasant and well mannered.

Things can also be said to be "as good as gold", as can promises. It's an assurance that the person or thing has as much worth as gold.

It is perhaps wise to be wary of such assurances, since another saying goes "All that glitters (or sometimes glisters) is not gold".

Answer: as a new pin

Sometimes "as shiny as a new pin" is used. New pins are bright (and shiny) so something that is very clean and well ordered can be said to be "as bright as a new pin".

Pins are generally used to attach two pieces of material together in a temporary fashion before they are sewed together.

Another type of pin is small badge that people - mostly men - wear in the lapels of their suits to show they are members of a certain organisation. If you see people with a small pin like a cog in their lapels, it usually indicates they are a member of a Rotary club. (And, of course, women can be members of Rotary too.)

Answer: as ice

Ice is one of our coldest naturally occurring things. It can be used literally by a person to mean that they are very cold indeed.

It can be used figuratively also. If someone was unsympathetic or uncaring, they might be described being "as cold as ice".

Answer: as hell

Hell, we are told, is a very hot place. Someone who has been bad or evil might well end up "burning in the fires of hell".

Someone who is too warm might say "this heavy coat makes me as hot as hell".