Frank J. Wilstach, comp. A Dictionary of Similes. 1916.

Gnaw

Gnaw me, like a burning worm.
—John Bunyan

Gnawed as with a file.
—Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Gnaw like fire.
—Algernon Charles Swinburne

Pain gnaws at my heart like a rat that gnaws at a bean
In the dusty dark of a ghost-frequented house.
—Arthur Symons