Read the following passage and answer the question. 'The politician's speech was a honeyed trap. He promised roads where there was bush, hospitals where there was only dust, and schools where children still scratched the earth with sticks. The crowd cheered, swallowing his words like a drought-stricken land drinks the first rain.' The figure of speech in the expression 'swallowing his words like a drought-stricken land drinks the first rain' is