A metaphor is a phrase of words that makes a comparison between two unlike objects without using the words "like" and/or "as." Like its cousin, the simile, the metaphor is used to provide the reader with information about a person or an object by comparing it to something with which the reader is familiar. For example, the metaphor, "the house was an oven when the air conditioner broke in July," gives the reader a greater understanding about the temperature inside the house by comparing it to an oven, which is known to be hot. The reader makes an implied connection between the house and the oven to come to the conclusion that the house is indeed hot.