An explicit simile contrasted with the implicit form

Implicit and Imaginative Metaphor: Definitions, Core Examples, and Analysis

FeatureOvert simileImplicit metaphor
TargetDeathDeath
SourcePredator explicitly namedPredator not named
Expression“Death is like a predator”“The claws of death”
SignalNo special attribute requiredClaws point to the predator

Both constructions rely on resemblance, but they communicate it differently. The overt simile names two things and connects them; the implicit construction lets the hearer recover the unspoken source through a distinctive property.