A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes a subject by asserting that it is, on some point of comparison, the same as another otherwise unrelated object. It is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things without using either "like" or "as". It is not to be mistaken with a simile which does use "like" or "as" in comparisons. Metaphor is a type of analogy and is closely related to other rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via association, comparison or resemblance including allegory, hyperbole, and simile.