The distinction is the presence or absence of comparison words like “like” or “as” since simile says one thing is similar to another: The sun was like a big orange ball.
Metaphor tells us one thing actually is another: The sun was a big orange ball.
Where I started to bog down in my mulling was in the various subspecies of metaphor, two of the most common of which are metonymy and synecdoche.
A metonym is a word or phrase that substitutes for another, as in, “There was no comment from the White House,” where the building stands in for the President.
On the other hand, a synecdoche represents something by one characteristic of it, such as calling a car “wheels.” One source I consulted gave as an example of synecdoche the use of “long hair” for hippie.
That brings me to my original point, which I admit was a long time coming. When I was young – well, before the Beatles, anyway – “long hair” didn’t mean hippie, it was associated with classical music, probably because of the longish and often untidy heads of hair seen in portraits of famous composers of the past and one or two eccentric orchestra conductors of the present.
It was that meaning that frequently caused my father to deliver the indirect referential synecdochic locution of, “I think I’ll get a hair cut. It’s cheaper than a violin.”
(I hope that was worth waiting for.)
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