I don't know the name?

[Anonymous]

It's killing me that I can't remember what these types of phrases are called! I used to do them all the time in school. An example of one would be: birds :: nests : bees :: hives. I think that's how they're done. What are those called?

[Casiopea]

It's killing me that I can't remember what these types of phrases are called! I used to do them all the time in school. An example of one would be: birds :: nests : bees :: hives. I think that's how they're done. What are those called?

It's called a Proportional Analogy, proportional because it follows a 4-portion process:

Birds = Nests as Bees = Hives

Birds are to nests as Bees are to hives.