"Waters without life" (Metaphor)
Joe describes extremely still water as "without life," likening it to something that has died. He uses this description when he is in the dream-world close to the novel's end. This metaphor establishes the dark atmosphere and tone of the novel's final portion.
"A tune with wings" (Metaphor)
Joe describes the tune that Treacle Walker plays on his bone flute as having "wings," comparing it to a bird and characterizing it as a tune that has the power to move and fly.
"Daft... as Dick's hatband" (Simile)
When Joe asks Treacle Walker whether he is daft—crazy or stupid—Treacle Walker replies that he is as daft as "Dick's hatband," a colloquial phrase that means he is absurd or peculiar. To say that something is like "Dick's hatband" is to imply that it is strange. In using this simile, Treacle Walker confirms that he is "daft," although he potentially does this with a level of self-conscious irony.
"As if the jar had been in the dirt" (Simile)
Joe uses this simile to convey how dirty the jar that Treacle Walker gives him is. It is grimy and looks as if it has been buried beneath the ground.
"Alder trunks rippled as rope" (Simile)
Joe describes the trees in the woods as "rippled as rope," which calls to mind the image of thick, striated bark and how it can run up and down a tree's surface like ropes.
