Simile: 'Oozing charm like a runny sore'

Here's a short extract from the novel No Time For Goodbye, by Linwood Barclay:

Paula Malloy was there and she greeted Cynthia like an old friend, oozing charm like a runny sore.


Maybe it's just me, but I don't think the second simile works. After all, a runny sore doesn't ooze charm. Something along the lines of 'oozing charm like a sore oozes pus' might have been better.

5 comments:

Fran Hill said...

And that book got published? Maybe there is chance for me after all ...

Stan said...

I don't think it works either, unless it was meant ironically.

By 'synonym' did you mean 'simile'?

JD (The Engine Room) said...

Yes, absolutely, I meant 'simile'. Oops...

Fran Hill said...

BTW, is there a synonym for synonym? I now have to go and check my thesaurus ...

Faldone said...

Sounds like a second rate entry in the Bulwer-Lytton contest.