He cannot reply, nor does the speaker really expect him to. Of course, the athlete was human, so he cannot be personified. The speaker does not expect the tiger to respond, nor does he give it any human characteristics. In fact, he goes on to compare it to a piece of sculpture. Some, however, are so useful that they acquire the meaning of the literal term .
First base is on the corner of the diamond .
The fullback took the pigskin and ran down the gridiron . Originally, a cockpit was a pit for cockfighting . A gridiron was what we now call a grill . This completes this presentation on figurative comparisons . Be sure to visit the other mini-courses on figures of speech .