Which sentence is a metaphor?

• A. Time is a thief.
• B. Time is like a thief
• C. Time steals like a thief
• D. Time and thief are equal

Answer: (A)

Metaphor is a figure of speech that asserts one thing is another to reveal a shared quality in a vivid, direct way. Saying “Time is a thief” treats time as if it were actually a thief, making an identity claim that time embodies the act of stealing. This direct substitution is what makes it a metaphor.

The other sentences don’t do that. “Time is like a thief” uses like, which signals a simile rather than a metaphor. “Time steals like a thief” also uses like and describes an action in a comparative way, still a simile. “Time and thief are equal” sounds like a logical or numerical equality rather than a figurative statement; it doesn’t establish an implicit comparison in the way a metaphor does.