<OL TYPE="1"><LI>a saying out of the usual course or deviating from the usual manner of speaking<OL TYPE="a"><LI>a current or trite saying, a proverb</OL><LI>any dark saying which shadows forth some didactic truth<OL TYPE="a"><LI>esp. a symbolic or figurative saying<LI>speech or discourse in which a thing is illustrated by the use of similes and comparisons<LI>an allegory<OL TYPE="1"><LI>extended and elaborate metaphor</OL></OL></OL>