The article discusses the meaning of “like” in similes from a Relevance Theory perspective. The author sets out to demonstrate that “like” in similes is different from “like” in literal comparisons, and argues that, contrary to the current relevance-theoretic position on this issue, the former is both conceptual and procedural and introduces an ad hoc concept. This observation, as claimed by the author, sheds light on similarities and differences between similes, metaphors and literal comparisons.