How are you with understanding metaphors?

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Things like he is as tall as a giraffe (for example), I don't get. He is tall like a giraffe makes more sense.
It's raining cats and dogs, I get once I've thought about it briefly.
If you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen make no sense at all.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen = If you can't tolerate the heat of a battle, withdraw from it.

There's an implication in that idiom that the recipient should give up, and take the cowardly way out of a situation.

In other words, you don't get it right away----but you get it upon reflection.

That's classic Aspie----you don't get the social situation in the midst of it--but you do get it upon reflection.

I generally understand all figures of speech. However, I researched classic/common idioms, love analogies (my dad used them constantly, and taught us to try and find the parallel lesson in the analogy vs pointing out the flaws), and cliches. However, if an odd one is used, or someone makes one up, then I have a hard time. I have to ask what they mean, and I almost always do.

The exception to this is idioms (for example) that don't have a clear meaning (Bob's your uncle), or when one is said with the wrong cadence/inflection like "A stitch, in time, saves nine", is usually said "A stitch in time, saves nine". It SHOULD mean a stitch executed at the appropriate time will prevent further unraveling of the fabric so as to prevent increased labor, or (to interpret relevantly), if you take care of something when you become aware of a problem, it will not become as big a problem as it would if you ignored it. (I.e., changing your brakes when they start to show signs of needing replacement vs waiting until you need everything replaced/fixed-which is more expensive). However, as demonstrated, I am very familiar with that phrase, but if spoken wrong (A stitch in time, saves nine), sounds more like someone is sewing time together to save years (which is NOT right). I have to almost transpose their words onto mental paper so that I can glean the correct meaning.

Does that make sense?

Idioms, similes, metaphors, analogies, I use them all. Mix them up like a bowl of fruit salad and serve it out with relish.

I have gotten used to them to the point of using them subconsciously. I still wish they did not exist.

Until it was just now explained, I had no idea what a "stitch in time, saves nine" meant. I really thought it had something to do with stitching time.

I kind of feel stupid now.

"In time" is an old-fashioned way of saying "soon" or "doing things slowly, patiently."

Many idioms were created in the distant past, so the language used is old-fashioned and might mean something slightly different in modern days.

The context of the idiom might have bee known in the old days, but the context dissolved over time, rendering the precise meaning unknown to modern people.

I had more trouble with metaphors than I did as a kid. I can still get confused by a new one, and I have to think about it. A co-worker said "you can take it to church!" recently. I had to ask him what it meant--it apparently meant that his previous statement was absolutely true, sort of like "you can bank on it."

I first starting thinking about metaphors as being grown-up weirdness when I was about 5 years old. My mom saw a friend at the grocery store and they started chatting. I just stood there, looking around. The friend noticed me and said, "How are you, little girl?" I said nothing, because Mom taught me not to talk to strangers. The lady said, "What's the matter, dear, cat got your tongue?" I thought to myself, Why would she think that? and stuck my tongue out to show her that it was still there.

I got really interested in idioms, folk customs, folk beliefs, superstitions, and eventually, comparative religion.

I've never been much good with poetry, though--the connection between the metaphor and what it represents is often too unclear, especially in older work like Shakespeare's. I also don't get sports metaphors, mostly because I don't get organized sports.

I think idioms and metaphors are interesting. I like researching their origins. Usually there is a perfectly reasonable explanation behind them, but the original meaning is no longer relevant to the current culture.

Learning another language, I find that it's important to figure out idioms and metaphors quickly because otherwise it's very easy to be confused. I think it takes a lot more work to understand when an adult learning a new language as opposed to being a child learning your native language.

Mandarin Chinese is full of "figures of speech" and a lot has to do with ancient Chinese culture and practices that aren't really as relevant today. I really like studying it.

I always thought I was pretty good at those things but that stitch in time one made no sense ...I mean I knew what it was supposed to mean, sort of, but it seemed like nonsense. Now I feel better that I know!

Once I got the hang of them as a child? Well, since then I love 'em. They open up a whole world of rich language. Every time I see someone suggesting that they should be avoided I cringe. It's like going into the Louvre and going "what are all these paintings doing here? We could use this space for something more practical."

That's not a metaphor by the way, it's a simile.

Similes are much easier to understand. I use them probably more than most people, although mine tend to be a little odd.

Like a second language...

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I struggled with them a fair bit when I was younger but into adulthood it has become much easier.