trait
"First insight: many traits spring from one source. A believable character will have one central trait, like the pole holding up a circus tent. Any number of positive and negative secondary traits can then populate that tent. Character traits are the circus performers; they are way more obvious and interesting than the pole, but they can only be there because of that central trait holding up the roof."
"In fact, most of the time the Bering Strait summer sky is like soggy blankets draped on your head, with visibility nil, pelting rain, and angry, storm-cloud-color seas."
METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.