If I Ran the Zoo

If I Ran the Zoo Metaphors and Similes

Grow By Leaps (Metaphor)

After detailing how he would like to hunt for Lunks in Nantucket, Gerald imagines that the public would comment on his expanding menagerie of wild animals by stating that McGrew Zoo "is growing by leaps." In this metaphor, Seuss uses a shortened version of the idiom "grow by leaps and bounds" to emphasize how the zoo expands so quickly it is as though it is running.

Frozen Winds Squeal (Metaphor)

While describing Gerald's theoretical visit to the North Pole, Seuss writes that it is a place where the "frozen winds squeal." In this metaphor, Seuss emphasizes the coldness of the climate by stating that the freezing winds squeal in the way a human or animal would.