Question

Complete the sentence with the appropriate simile:
Could you please pass me my glasses? I’m ______________ without them.
a) As blind as a bee
b) As blind as a beetle
c) As blind as a bat
d) As blind as a badger

Answer 1

Hint: Similes are figures of speech that present the likeness between two very unlikely things. It does so by using words – ‘as’ or ‘like’. So, you need to find the simile most suited to describe someone who is almost blind.

Complete answer:

Similes are figures of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. For e.g. – As brave as a lion.
In simple words, the use of similes is a method of comparison between things. Let us look into a few more examples – smooth as butter, light like a feather, and so on.
In the above-mentioned question, the sentence seeks to make a comparison between the person speaking (who is in need of the glasses to see) and something or someone whose blindness is more prominent.
As per the given solutions, we have the option of using four animals to compare the speaker’s blindness with. Since bats are rumored to have no eyesight the appropriate simile to use should be – ‘as blind as a bat’. So, the correct answer is “Option c”.
Bees are known to sting therefore their use as a simile is – ‘stung like a bee’,
Beetles do not have hearing capacity therefore there use in simile is – ‘as deaf as a beetle’, and
Badgers have a white spot in their head which makes them appear bald therefore their use in simile is – ‘as bald as a badger’.

Note: Try to compare each option with the knowledge you have or what you have heard about the animals mentioned. Then try to fit the meaning you have in the sentence and eliminate those which you find incorrect.