For many people 2016, which brought the planet Brexit, the Donald Trump election victory, the deaths of Prince, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen and the brief union that was Twiddleswift, has not been the greatest of years.
In fact, the year has become so maligned that Twitter is now awash with scores of posts listing the strange and terrible things that the last 11 months can be compared to.
Among the suggested metaphors for 2016 are a boy being knocked over by an uncooperative wheelie bin, two bald eagles stuck in a drain and the death of Courage, the Thanksgiving turkey pardoned by Barack Obama in 2009.
Here, we collate some of the most poignant:
A bald eagle trapped in a sewer pretty much sums up America in 2016. #notmypresident pic.twitter.com/Ib1ta7tv91
— Asif (@aok5557) November 14, 2016
Another metaphor for 2016?https://t.co/IqefJcQK9Y
— Matthew Rhodie (@matthewrhodie) November 22, 2016
This Kid Battling This Trashcan Is A Metaphor For 2016 https://t.co/L4V0cvZ3TQ via @ebaumsworld
— Mark Medina (@Mark_Medina) November 12, 2016
In this one, a crab rips its own arm off.
A metaphor for 2016 https://t.co/SSgfYULB1B
— Snapbot Hunter (@harryhendel) November 22, 2016
And here, a polar bear pats a dog - and then eats it.
This seems like a metaphor for life lately #2016 https://t.co/8P7bH49M7w
— Agatha (@aie2009) November 23, 2016
In more animal news, two moose were found frozen in a lake, locked in combat.
This is the best metaphor for 2016 I've seen yet. https://t.co/kYPkvB5GBI
— Shelby Hintze (@shelbs25) November 20, 2016
I love cats omg RT @cabel: My cat has devised the perfect metaphor for the year 2016 pic.twitter.com/bJIgmvKXjN
— Tom the Iron Man (@SgtHarvey) November 22, 2016
The perfect metaphor for 2016. pic.twitter.com/GVYjvj7O6Y
— Stiles White (@StilesWhite) November 20, 2016
2017 - you have a lot to live up to.
