"My wife's sandal pinches her" (Metaphor)
Many of the metaphors in Lysistrata are, in fact, sexual double entendres. In the second scene, the Magistrate tries to suggest that many men are loose and overly permissive with their wives, encouraging promiscuity and engage in wife-swapping. He tells a story of a man who said to a shoemaker, "My wife’s sandal pinches her. Maybe you can come by and open up her orifice a bit.” In this, the metaphor of the sandal pinching the man's wife is a lewd sexual suggestion, suggesting that what she actually needs to have opened is her "orifice" (her vagina).
"You think we feel no thirst for glory?" (Metaphor)
In speaking to the magistrate, Lysistrata uses the metaphor of thirst to describe the women's desire to conquer their husbands. After the women beat back the men with various domestic implements, she gloats to him, suggesting that they are just as "thirsty" for glory as they are for wine.
"She has wounded you and turned your balls bright blue" (Metaphor)
This metaphor, uttered by the chorus of women to Cinesias in Scene 4, is another double entendre. The chorus uses a military metaphor to describe Cinesias' sexual frustration, suggesting that he is "wounded" by his unfulfilled desire.
"Here comes the Spartan ambassador. Look at his beard, it’s like a bird’s nest" (Simile)
In Scene 5, the leader of the chorus of men notes the arrival of the Spartan herald, and sees that he has a large beard, which he compares to a bird's nest.
"Bring him here gently, like a woman" (Simile)
In the final scene, Lysistrata beckons someone to bring her the Spartan ambassador, but tells them to bring him to her "gently, like a woman." This simile suggests that she wants to give the Spartan herald some of the patronizing treatment that women typically receive, emasculate him in some way.
