Friendship shows up constantly in figurative English, and similes are one of the clearest ways speakers capture what a close bond actually feels like. Saying two friends are thick as thieves or stuck together like glue does more work than simply saying “they’re close.” It gives the listener an image, a texture, something to picture rather than just a fact to accept.
This article focuses specifically on similes, expressions that compare friendship, loyalty, or closeness to something else using the signal words “like” or “as.” That is a narrower category than metaphors, which state a direct identity (they’re joined at the hip) rather than a comparison (they’re like two peas in a pod). Keeping that distinction clean matters, especially since several well known friendship expressions, joined at the hip and fast friends among them, are actually metaphors that get mistaken for similes constantly.
Every expression below was checked against idiom dictionaries including The Free Dictionary’s idioms database, Cambridge, Merriam-Webster, and Reverso, with origin claims included only where a source could actually verify them. Twelve genuine similes for friendship met that bar. That number is lower than a round fifteen, and rather than stretch weaker or invented phrases to reach a bigger count, this article states the true number and explains why a few tempting candidates got left out.
What Makes A Simile Work
A simile signals its comparison openly, using “like” or “as” to tell the listener that two different things are being placed side by side on purpose. “They’re thick as thieves” is a simile because “as” makes the comparison explicit. Say instead “they’re joined at the hip,” and the sentence no longer compares anything, it simply states a fused condition as fact, which makes it a metaphor. Friendship similes lean on a recognizable set of images again and again: shared containers (peas in a pod), adhesives (glue), constant companions (shadows), and animals known for devotion (dogs). That repetition isn’t a lack of imagination on English’s part. It’s what makes an expression instantly recognizable across generations of speakers.
Similes About Closeness And Inseparability
As Thick As Thieves
This is likely the single most recognized friendship simile in English, and it comes with an unusually well documented history. The earliest printed use traces to 1807, and the phrase gained steady popularity through the 1820s. The comparison draws on how thieves in earlier centuries had to rely completely on one another and share secrets to avoid getting caught, so the phrase carries a faint undertone of complicity or shared secrecy alongside plain closeness. Interestingly, “thick” here has nothing to do with the modern slang sense of stupid. It instead descends from an older eighteenth century usage of “thick” meaning closely allied or intimate.
Like Two Peas In A Pod
This simile is genuinely old, with one of the earliest known instances appearing in John Lyly’s 1580 work Euphues and His England, where he compared two nearly identical twins to peas from the same pod. The image works because peas inside a single pod are packed tightly together and look virtually indistinguishable from one another. Applied to friendship, it usually signals two people who are not only close but strikingly alike in habits, tastes, or humor, to the point that others start to think of them as a matched set.
Stuck Together Like Glue
Documented in the Farlex Dictionary of Idioms and widely used in both casual speech and journalism, this simile describes a bond so strong it resembles a physical adhesive. Because glue implies permanence once it sets, the comparison suggests a friendship that has moved past being merely close into something that feels fixed and unlikely to come apart, whether through everyday habit or years of shared history.
As Close As Two Coats Of Paint
This one is less common today but well established in idiom references, appearing in the Farlex Dictionary of Idioms and the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms. The image comes from how a second coat of paint bonds completely with the first, leaving no visible separation between the layers. It carries a slightly old fashioned, almost folksy tone compared to more modern options like “stuck together like glue,” making it a good fit for narrative or nostalgic writing about lifelong friends.
Like White On Rice
This is a distinctly American, fairly informal simile with traceable roots going back at least to a 1951 novel, and possibly earlier oral use in the 1930s according to phrase historians. The comparison plays on how rice and its white color are inseparable in the mind’s eye, since one cannot really picture rice without picturing its color. It is worth noting this simile is not used exclusively for warm, affectionate friendship. It also appears in contexts describing close watching or vigilance, as in staying right on top of a problem, so the surrounding sentence usually needs to make clear which sense is meant.
Follow Someone Like A Shadow
Cambridge Dictionary itself offers this exact construction as an example, describing a child who followed his mother around all day like a shadow. Applied to friendship, it captures a companion who is constantly present, trailing along through daily life the way a literal shadow never separates from the person casting it. It reads warmer and gentler than “stuck together like glue,” carrying more of a devoted, quietly constant tone than an intense or dramatic one.
Similes About Warmth And Instant Connection
Get On Like A House On Fire
Primarily used in British English, this simile describes two people who hit it off immediately and enthusiastically, as though their rapport caught and spread the way flames do once a house is properly alight. The comparison is a little counterintuitive at first glance, since house fires are obviously destructive, but the emphasis lands on speed and intensity of spread rather than on damage. It works especially well for describing new friendships or first meetings that click faster than expected.
Similes About Loyalty And Reliability
As Loyal As A Dog
Verified in Reverso’s Collins sourced entries as meaning extremely faithful and devoted, this simile draws directly on the reputation dogs have built over centuries of domestication as steadfast, unwavering companions. Applied to a friend, it praises someone who sticks around through difficulty rather than only during easy times, and it tends to carry a warm, almost sentimental tone rather than a purely descriptive one.
As Solid As A Rock
Confirmed across Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, and Longman dictionaries, this simile describes something exceptionally stable, dependable, and unlikely to give way under pressure. It is not exclusive to friendship, since it applies equally well to marriages, business partnerships, or physical structures, but it fits a dependable friend just as naturally: someone whose support does not waver even when circumstances get difficult.
Similes About Friends Who Feel Like Family
Like A Brother To Me / Like A Sister To Me
Idiom references confirm this construction as a genuine, widely used way of describing a friendship that has taken on the emotional weight typically reserved for siblings. It signals a bond built on trust and history rather than blood relation, and it appears comfortably in both casual conversation and more reflective, sentimental writing.
Someone Is Like Family
Distinct from the sibling specific version above, this broader simile extends the comparison to an entire household or family unit rather than one particular relationship. The Farlex Dictionary of Idioms records it as describing a deep emotional connection with someone who is not an actual relative, often used for friends who have become woven into the daily rhythms and rituals of a person’s life over many years.
Similes About Familiarity
Know Someone Like The Back Of Your Hand
This simile is not exclusively about friendship (it applies just as often to knowing a place, a subject, or a piece of music) but it is commonly extended to close friends whose habits, moods, and reactions have become entirely predictable through long familiarity. The comparison rests on the idea that the back of one’s own hand is about as intimately known as anything can be, since it is seen constantly and requires no conscious study.
When And How To Use These Similes
Most of these expressions sit comfortably in informal to moderately casual writing and conversation. Phrases like thick as thieves, like two peas in a pod, and get on like a house on fire work well in personal essays, dialogue, social writing, and everyday speech, but they would feel out of place in a formal reference letter or academic prose. Like white on rice and follow someone like a shadow lean distinctly colloquial and suit relaxed storytelling more than professional contexts. Meanwhile, solid as a rock and loyal as a dog can stretch slightly more formal without sounding forced, since both appear in business and relationship writing alike. As a general rule, if the writing wants warmth, personality, or a conversational voice, these similes add color. If it wants neutral precision, plain description usually serves the sentence better.
Common Mistakes And Confusions
The most frequent error with this topic is treating a metaphor as though it were a simile. Joined at the hip and fast friends are both genuine, well documented expressions for closeness, but neither uses “like” or “as,” so grammatically they are metaphors, not similes, even though they describe the exact same kind of bond. A second common confusion involves like white on rice, which many assume refers only to affectionate closeness when it can just as easily describe wary, watchful attention, so context has to carry more of the meaning than the phrase alone does. Finally, know someone like the back of your hand and as solid as a rock both get used loosely enough that people forget they are not friendship specific at all. They apply just as naturally to places, objects, or professional relationships, so using them for a friend works but doesn’t automatically signal warmth the way thick as thieves or like a sister to me does on its own.
Summary
These twelve similes cover the emotional range friendship tends to inspire in language: instant rapport, unshakeable loyalty, sibling like closeness, and the kind of familiarity that makes another person’s habits as predictable as your own hand. Twelve is the honest count of genuinely attested, dictionary verified friendship similes rather than a padded fifteen, and each one earns its place through real, traceable usage.
FAQs
What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor about friendship?
A simile signals its comparison directly using “like” or “as,” as in stuck together like glue. A metaphor states the comparison as fact without a signal word, as in they’re joined at the hip. Both describe closeness, but they work differently as grammar.
Why does this article list only 12 similes instead of the requested 15?
Twelve is the number of genuinely attested, dictionary verified friendship similes found during research. Rather than pad the list with invented phrases or borderline expressions that don’t actually meet the “like” or “as” test, the true, verified count is reported instead.
Is “joined at the hip” a simile?
No. It states the bond directly without using “like” or “as,” which makes it a metaphor even though it describes the same kind of inseparable closeness that many friendship similes describe.
Does “like white on rice” always mean a warm, close friendship?
Not necessarily. It commonly describes affectionate closeness between friends, but it is also used to describe close, watchful attention on a problem or person, so the surrounding sentence needs to make the intended meaning clear.
Where does “as thick as thieves” come from?
The earliest known printed use dates to 1807, with the phrase becoming well established by the 1820s. It draws on the idea that thieves historically had to trust each other completely and share secrets to avoid capture.
Can “as solid as a rock” be used for something other than friendship?
Yes. It is a general purpose simile for reliability and stability, used for marriages, businesses, buildings, and physical objects just as often as for friendships.
Is “get on like a house on fire” understood the same way in American and British English?
The phrase originated in and remains more common in British English. American speakers will generally understand it in context, but it appears less frequently in everyday American speech compared to alternatives like “hit it off.”
Are similes like “like a brother to me” only used for male friendships?
No. Both “like a brother to me” and “like a sister to me” are used depending on the gender of the friend being described, and the broader version, “someone is like family,” works regardless of gender for either the speaker or the friend.
