stink like a mackerel

en-verb

stink like a mackerel (third-person singular simple present stinks like a mackerel, present participle stinking like a mackerel, simple past stank like a mackerel, past participle stunk like a mackerel)

stinks like a mackerel (present singular third-person)
stinking like a mackerel (participle present)
stank like a mackerel (past)
stunk like a mackerel (participle past)

In summary, I think that the waterfront situation "stinks like a mackerel in the hot sunlight."

In spite of the pipe he drew on so often that he seemed forever wrapped in a cloud of acrid blue smoke, Murphy stank like a mackerel.

1977, Bartholomew Gill, McGarr and the politician's wife: a mystery novel, page 57:

Well, then it talks about Senator Durbin and Senator Susan Collins exposing the tax credit, as they termed, that "shines and stinks like a mackerel in the moonlight," to quote Time magazine, which would have offset industry costs and a now-ill-fated tobacco deal had brought it to the light of day.

1998, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs, Investigation of illegal or improper activities in connection with the 1996 federal election campaign:

lf some goof thought he was doing it on my behalf, the murder'll stink like a mackerel in the sunshine and screw up our lives forever.

2006, John Sandford, Dead watch, page 149:

That argument stinks like a mackerel in the moonlight!

Because de Braose's name stinks like a mackerel in the sun; I'd have thought the foul smell sure to've reached even as far as Normandy.

stink to high heaven
stink to high heaven

(simile, figuratively) To smell fishy, to stink to high heaven (to look extremely suspicious or unconvincing)


deaf as a doorknob

(simile) Stone deaf. (unable to hear at all)


like stink on shit

(simile, vulgar, derogatory) In very close proximity; following closely.


mad as a wet hen

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My stars! He was mad; mad as a wet hen. He was so mad he looked, as big as he was, to be actually swelled.

1899, Ferdinand Eugene Daniel, “The Doctor Puts Up a Job on the Major”, in Recollections of a Rebel Surgeon:

(US, colloquial, simile) Very angry; furious.


crazy as a cootie bug

(US, colloquial, simile) Completely crazy; insane.


curse like a sailor

curse like a sailor (third-person singular simple present curses like a sailor, present participle cursing like a sailor, simple past and past participle cursed like a sailor)

curses like a sailor (present singular third-person)
cursing like a sailor (participle present)
cursed like a sailor (participle past)
cursed like a sailor (past)

swear like a trooper
swear like a trooper#English

(simile) Synonym of swear like a trooper


curse like a trooper

curse like a trooper (third-person singular simple present curses like a trooper, present participle cursing like a trooper, simple past and past participle cursed like a trooper)

curses like a trooper (present singular third-person)
cursing like a trooper (participle present)
cursed like a trooper (participle past)
cursed like a trooper (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-curse like a trooper.wav


tough as teak

First use appears c. 1842. See cite below.

We could not find that she had sustained any material damage, for thanks to the Hindostane builder, the old Brougham is as tough as teak and nails can make her.

1842, H.H. Chambers (publisher), The New Zealand Journal, Volume 3, page 282:

Big Salvo was up there with the greatest front rowers of the 90's. Like O'Doherty he had it all. He was as tough as teak, made the hard yards, was a punishing defender, and had amazing ball skills for a man his size. Injury and suspension unfortunately dampened his career, he was somewhat inexplicably dropped as the incumbent test prop after 91. He along with Geyer, Bella, Meninga, etc slaughtered the Kiwi's in that series.

1999 August 25, Dr Who, “Most Under Rated Players - This Decade”, in aus.sport.rugby-league (Usenet):

Sammy knew Johnny was as tough as teak and he carried a punch like a sledgehammer blow. Sammy had never forgotten how Johnny had once handled a punk who had tried to pick a quarrel.

2000, James Hadley Chase, Knock, Knock! Who's There?, page 4:

"beneath their Golden State polish these records are as tough as teak, with a swagger imparted by as good a phrasemaker as ever made rock and roll records."

2003 October 11, Helen Cushion, “Uncut Magazine Uk November issue”, in alt.music.zevon (Usenet):


look like who did it and ran

look like who did it and ran (third-person singular simple present looks like who did it and ran, present participle looking like who did it and ran, simple past and past participle looked like who did it and ran)

looks like who did it and ran (present singular third-person)
looking like who did it and ran (participle present)
looked like who did it and ran (participle past)
looked like who did it and ran (past)

From the question a person might be asked after a prank.

My house looks like who did it and ran.

(simile) To appear messy or dishevelled.


like Blackpool Illuminations

In reference to Blackpool Illuminations, an annual festival of light founded in 1879.

Turn all those lights off. It's like Blackpool Illuminations in here!

(informal, British, simile) Very brightly lit.


pissed as a parrot

(Australia, simile, slang, vulgar) Very drunk.


run like a dry creek

run like a dry creek (third-person singular simple present runs like a dry creek, present participle running like a dry creek, simple past ran like a dry creek, past participle run like a dry creek)

runs like a dry creek (present singular third-person)
running like a dry creek (participle present)
ran like a dry creek (past)
run like a dry creek (participle past)

A pun on two senses of run: to flow (as in "running water") and to stand for election.

The Scripps-Howard newspapers, which are supporting Eisenhower, criticized Ike for "running like a dry creek."

1952, LIFE, volume 33, number 10, page 49:

The last of the six candidates, Stephen Dorrell, did not even get off the starting-blocks. His campaign ran like a dry creek from day one.

One Illinois delegate said, "I saw Lodge on television today, and he'll run like a dry creek."

2009, W. J. Rorabaugh, The Real Making of the President:

(simile, US, colloquial, politics) To run for political office with little chance of success.

Carlyle had a brief trial in the big leagues with the Red Sox and the Yankees. But he ran like a dry creek and was weak of arm.

1956, American Mercury, volume 83, number 390, page 153:

The League knew little about lobbving and its cash flow ran like a dry creek. Small and big business were against a consumer cooperative bank bill.

1985, Jay Richter, Where credit was due: the creation of the National Consumer Cooperative Bank, page 24:

The days stretch ahead, dull and tedious, and the camp seems to be doing nothing, going nowhere, running like a dry creek.

1989, David L. Moore, Dark Sky, Dark Land:

(simile, US, colloquial) To run (in various senses) badly or not at all.


like a cow pissing on a flat rock

en-adv

like a cow pissing on a flat rock (not comparable)

Compare piss down, piss it down, and French pleuvoir comme vache qui pisse (“rain like a pissing cow”).

m+

It poured like a cow pissing on a flat rock. Summer thunderstorm in a Catskill cattle pasture with 350,000 Mud People standing in it. Aerosmith was supposed to play at midnight, but midnight came and went.

1994, Albert Watson, Woodstock '94: the book, St Martins Pr, →ISBN:

We hadn't gone a mile before it started to rain, light tentative drops at first, like unsure messengers. Then the lightning started and rent open the clouds. It came down like a cow pissing on a flat rock. We had no slickers and were soon soaked.

2004, James Corwin, A Grizzly Way to Die, →ISBN:

Rita's car was an old Plymouth Fury that, despite the meticulous attention given to its lubrication system, leaked oil like a cow pissing on a flat rock. Nel and Danny got into the pickup truck and followed the trail of black ooze, all the way down ...

2014, Barbara Hall, Close to Home: A Novel, Open Road Media, →ISBN:

It was pouring like a cow pissing on a flat rock. Would he show? She didn't know if he would or not, but the cows still had to be fed. Heaving herself out of bed, she threw on her rattiest jeans and a baggy tee and trudged out to the rain-soaked pastures, […]

2016, Victoria Vane, Beauty and the Bull Rider, Lyrical Shine, →ISBN:

(US, of rain or other liquid falling, vulgar) Heavily; copiously (and often loudly).

comme vache qui pisse

heavily — see also rain cats and dogs, piss it down


smell like a tart's handbag

en-verb

smell like a tart's handbag (third-person singular simple present smells like a tart's handbag, present participle smelling like a tart's handbag, simple past and past participle smelt like a tart's handbag or smelled like a tart's handbag)

smells like a tart's handbag (present singular third-person)
smelling like a tart's handbag (participle present)
smelt like a tart's handbag (participle past)
smelt like a tart's handbag (past)
smelled like a tart's handbag (participle past)
smelled like a tart's handbag (past)

I dropped a perfume bottle on the floor and now the house smells like a tart's handbag.

(UK, idiomatic, slang, derogatory, simile) To smell strongly of perfume.


die like flies

die like flies (third-person singular simple present dies like flies, present participle dying like flies, simple past and past participle died like flies)

dies like flies (present singular third-person)
dying like flies (participle present)
died like flies (participle past)
died like flies (past)

They must have been dying like flies here.

1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 196:


head like a sieve

mind like a sieve
mind like a sieve#English


leak like a sieve

leak like a sieve (third-person singular simple present leaks like a sieve, present participle leaking like a sieve, simple past and past participle leaked like a sieve)

leaks like a sieve (present singular third-person)
leaking like a sieve (participle present)
leaked like a sieve (participle past)
leaked like a sieve (past)


look like a bomb has hit it

look<> like a bomb has<has,has,had> hit it

look like a bomb has hit it (third-person singular simple present looks like a bomb has hit it, present participle looking like a bomb has hit it, simple past and past participle looked like a bomb had hit it)

looks like a bomb has hit it (present singular third-person)
looking like a bomb has hit it (participle present)
looked like a bomb had hit it (participle past)
looked like a bomb had hit it (past)

(simile, informal, of a place) to be very messy.

look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards


look<> as if one has<has,has,had> been dragged through a hedge backwards

look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards (third-person singular simple present looks as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards, present participle looking as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards, simple past and past participle looked as if one had been dragged through a hedge backwards)

/ˌlʊk‿əz‿ɪf ˈwʌn həz bɪn ˈdɹæɡd θɹuː‿ə hɛd͡ʒ ˈbækwɜːdz/

/ˌlʊk‿əz‿ɪf ˈwʌn həz bɪn ˈdɹæɡd θɹu‿ə hɛd͡ʒ ˈbækwɝdz/

Bill is right, for I heard him say myself she [a racehorse] couldn't stay; he'd eat her if she won: drawn too fine; was on the go; done too much work; had a bad night, and looked as if she was dragged through a hedge backwards, and hadn't eaten a feed of corn for a month.

1865, R. H. Copperthwaite, “Turf Topics”, in The Turf and the Racehorse […], London: Day and Son, […], →OCLC, pages 78–79:

"Papa wants you in the library," she said, coldly; "but I advise you not to go downstairs till you have smoothed your hair. You look as if you had been dragged through a hedge backwards."

1875, Mary Neville, “[A Little Heiress.] Chapter VI. Leaves from an Old Diary.”, in Alice Godolphin and A Little Heiress. Two Stories. […], volume II, London: Samuel Tinsley, […], →OCLC, page 57:

"I want the waist to be narrow," I told the tailor at Huntsmans, "I don't want to look as if I've been dragged through a hedge backwards."

2004, Harry Turner, “High Fashion 1947 Style”, in Growing Up in Fulham: Memories of SW6 1940–1953, London: Janus Publishing Company, published 2006, →ISBN, page 215:

Fasten that top button, Kosh. […] And tidy up that bearskin! You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards.

[2018, Brian Luff, Jack and the Magical Beanstalk: A Traditional Family Pantomime, [London]: Fit2Fill, →ISBN, act I, scene ii, page 22:

A nail technician was mortified after splurging £500 on 'princess hair' only to end up looking like she'd been "dragged through a hedge backwards" – after getting in a hot tub. […] The teen confesses that advice is to avoid chlorinated water, wearing your hair in a bun or sleeping with wet hair after having extensions fitted – and she managed to do all three in one night.

[2021 August 18, Martha Cliff, “Hair scare: I spent £500 on ‘princess hair’ – but as soon as I got it wet I looked like I’d been ‘dragged through a hedge backwards’”, in The Sun, London: News Group Newspapers, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-11-15:

(intransitive, British, simile, humorous, informal) To look extremely dishevelled.


like a mother hawk

The important thing to learn here is to watch your kids like a Mother Hawk, don't trust anyone to save your skin especially not the courts.

(simile) Paying extremely close attention; in an extremely protective way


built like a brick shipyard

en-adj

built like a brick shipyard (not comparable)

built like a brick shithouse
built like a brick shithouse#English

(euphemistic, simile, idiomatic) Synonym of built like a brick shithouse


dark as the inside of a cow

dark as the inside of a cow (not comparable)

(simile, informal) Extremely dark; pitch-black.


angry as a wet hen

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-angry as a wet hen.wav

mad as a wet hen
mad as a wet hen#English

(US, colloquial, simile) Synonym of mad as a wet hen (“very angry”)


miserable as a wet hen

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-miserable as a wet hen.wav

(US, colloquial, simile) Thoroughly miserable or dejected.


wild as a wet hen

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-wild as a wet hen.wav


wetter than an otter's pocket

wetter than an otter's pocket (comparative form only)

One night we were heading off for a team dinner and somehow Jeff fell into a fountain. […] He was saturated except for two vital things: his pack of cigarettes in one hand and the team's supply of Cabcharge vouchers in the other. It was hilarious—he was as wet as an otter's pocket but somehow managed to keep his smokes and the vouchers dry.

2007, Jason Gillespie, Lawrie Colliver, Dizzy: The Jason Gillespie Story, Sydney: HarperCollins, published 2010, →ISBN, page unknown:

(simile, informal) Completely wet, drenched, soaked.


built like a brick outhouse

built like a brick outhouse (not comparable)

As for the '66', the HSE noted that because of its "robust construction and mass" it sustained comparatively "minor structural damage". Built like the proverbial brick outhouse, it nevertheless had "no energy-absorbing design features".

2021 February 24, Greg Morse, “Great Heck: a tragic chain of events”, in RAIL, number 925, page 42:


sweet as candy

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sweet as candy.wav

Cora Dell was from the South. She wasn't very sharp, but she was sweet as candy. A precious little doll. Boys fell all over themselves when she marched by.

(Canada, US, simile) Synonym of sweet as pie


big as bull-beef

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-big as bull-beef.wav


ugly as bull-beef

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-ugly as bull-beef.wav


like a drowned rat

to look like a drowned rat

(simile, informal) Soaked to the point of being highly unattractive; bedraggled.


drink something like lemonade

en-verb

drink<,,drank,drunk> (something) like lemonade

drink something like lemonade (third-person singular simple present drinks (something) like lemonade, present participle drinking (something) like lemonade, simple past drank (something) like lemonade, past participle drunk (something) like lemonade)

drinks (something) like lemonade (present singular third-person)
drinking (something) like lemonade (participle present)
drank (something) like lemonade (past)
drunk (something) like lemonade (participle past)

The weasel drank his scotch like lemonade and before we had even touched upon our topic of interest he ordered another.

2011, Joe Thompson-Swift, A Choice of Evils:

I had come to love sweet mixed drinks — whiskey sours, Bacardi cocktails, daiquiris — and I drank them like lemonade.

1981, Mary Ann Crenshaw, End of the Rainbow, page 12:

(simile) To drink something (especially an alcoholic drink) easily and in large quantities.


crazy as a shithouse rat

en-adj

crazy as a shithouse rat (not comparable)

(simile, slang, vulgar) Thoroughly crazy.


clean as a new pin

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-clean as a new pin.wav


clean as a bean

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-clean as a bean.wav


fine and dandy like sour candy

fine and dandy like sour candy (not comparable)

GEORGE BUSH: Well, howdily doodily yourself, there, Ned. This is my wife Barbara. I call her Bar. Would you like some lemonade?
NED: Tip top notch!
GEORGE BUSH: Okily dokily!
NED: Thankily dankily!
GEORGE BUSH: Scrump-diddley-eriffic!
BOTH: Fine and dandy like sour candy!

1996, The Simpsons (animated TV series), "Two Bad Neighbors" (season 7 episode 13)

We had a nice chat, yes we did, and I think they're fine and dandy like sour candy,” she said, giving them a knowing smile, “Did you find out much from your computa-ma-web?”

2014, Jeremy Tyrrell, Adaptation (part 3, page 114)

Then, with my consent, they politely show me their scars/scabs and we do the hug and the photo and everything is fine and dandy like sour candy.

2016, Hannah Hart, Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded:

(Canada, US, informal, simile) Synonym of fine and dandy


like a scalded dog

Shoot, Sniffer jerked away and took off like a scalded dog.

2010, R. Harper Mason, Lyin' Like a Dog:

More often, he would buck like a scalded dog. If I could keep him circling in one direction, I could ride him. If I ever turned his head loose, he'd generally pile drive me again and disappear out from under me.

2012, Jean Larremore, Self-Portrait of a Texas Cowboy: Ass Over Teakettle, page 54:


like a raped ape

I'd like to report that this was his last mistake, but the quick little devil dodged my arrow and took off like a raped ape.

1978, Chuck Adams, The Complete Book of Bowhunting, page 213:

The nurses' aide takes off like a raped ape and Fairingnose winks at me.

This blue Camaro looked bad, sounded worse and would run like a raped ape. I have no idea what-all-else Wayne did to this car, but it was a six-cylinder that would walk away from every car I came against.

2005, Chuck E. Sanders, The Making of a Minister, page 59:


like winkin

He can run like winkin.


idle as Ludlam's dog

lazy as Ludlam's dog
lazy as Ludlam's dog#English

(simile, archaic) Synonym of lazy as Ludlam's dog


lazy as Ludlam's dog

Ludlam's dog was proverbially said to have leaned its head against the wall to bark.


crooked as a dog's hind leg

(simile) very unscrupulous and deceptive


like a ripe plum

I could pull it off, like a bird, single handed; but with you, in a manner of speaking, always round the corner, and ready to help me with your sage counsel, failure is impossible. She is like a ripe plum hanging on the tree, Billy .

1877, James Greenwood, Dick Temple, page 195:

If they can bring Round Pond to her knees, the rest of the world will fall like a ripe plum.

1976 ·, James A. McCracken, Innocents at Sea, page 193:

She was like a ripe plum falling into my hand!

1997, Linda Chaikin, The Pirate and His Lady:

"Then you must seek her out! She isn't going to just fall into your lap like a ripe plum, my boy,” the duke insisted.

2010, Adrienne Basso, How to Seduce a Sinner, page 43:

You said yourself he'd only to wait and the mine would have dropped into his lap like a ripe plum.


slick as a whistle

(simile) Smooth and skillful; performed with ease and grace.


queer as a coot

(simile, UK, informal) Ostentatiously homosexual.


plain as a haystack

`Two things are clear to me,' I said, addressing my three companions, who stared at this spectacle in dismay: `first, that we can't go across there' (I pointed to the swamp), `and, secondly, that if we stop here we shall certainly die of fever.' `That's as plain as a haystack, sir,' said Job.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “The Head of the Ethiopian”, in She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC, page 62:


sick as a cat

`My head is splitting, my body is trembling, and I am as sick as a cat.'

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:


bright as a new pin

bright as a button
bright as a button#English


run for the exercise

en-verb

run for the exercise (third-person singular simple present runs for the exercise, present participle running for the exercise, simple past ran for the exercise, past participle run for the exercise)

runs for the exercise (present singular third-person)
running for the exercise (participle present)
ran for the exercise (past)
run for the exercise (participle past)

A pun on two senses of run: to run for election and to travel quickly on foot.

[I]f Rockefeller wanted to run for the exercise, [Democrats] reasoned, let him kill himself off and clear the way for a more regular Republican in the next election.

1959, Candidates 1960 "xxx", Nelson. A Rockefeller, page 53

BENTSEN: SAYS HE WON'T RUN "FOR THE EXERCISE"
"Asked about the 1992 presidential race, Bentsen said he would not run as a sacrificial lamb so that the [Dems] would have a credible candidate and avoid a humiliating defeat"

1991, The Hotline, volume 4, numbers 127-148, page 3:

(simile, US, colloquial, politics) To run for political office with little chance of success.


sharp as a bowling ball

en-adj

sharp as a bowling ball (not comparable)

(simile, colloquial, humorous) Not at all sharp-witted; very stupid.


dead as ditch-water

"Do you go in if you like." But I merely shook my head, my excitement was as dead as ditch-water, and my distaste for the prolongation of my mortal span had come back upon me more strongly than ever.


like a bowl in a china shop

On an intuition, Jennifer offered, “That’s why you and Mr Tate get along so well. He’s like an earthenware bowl in a china shop because he’s more real … more solid and down-to-earth.”

Now, I sit as quiet as a bowl in a china shop.

“Just get me whatever.” “Whatever what?” “Like a pen. Like a mug,” Jeff says. “Like a bowl in a china shop.”

2017 August 23, Hilary Leichter, “Like a Bowl in a China Shop”, in The New Yorker:


sure as the world

Ellipsis from various similar phrases: "sure as the world exists", "goes round", "spins", "stands", etc.


lie like a dog

en-verb

lie like a dog (third-person singular simple present lies like a dog, present participle lying like a dog, simple past and past participle lied like a dog)

lies like a dog (present singular third-person)
lying like a dog (participle present)
lied like a dog (participle past)
lied like a dog (past)

(simile, slang) To lie a lot; to tell many untruths.


as fast as one's legs could carry one

en-adv

as fast as one's legs could carry one (not comparable)

(simile) At top speed (running on foot); as fast as possible.


dandy as candy

(simile, informal, Canada, US) Perfectly fine or good.


like flies on pie

like white on rice
like white on rice#English


pass up like a white chip

en-verb

pass up<passes up,passing up,passed up> like a white chip

pass up like a white chip (third-person singular simple present passes up like a white chip, present participle passing up like a white chip, simple past and past participle passed up like a white chip)

passes up like a white chip (present singular third-person)
passing up like a white chip (participle present)
passed up like a white chip (participle past)
passed up like a white chip (past)

In reference to white poker chips, which typically carried the lowest value. (Compare blue chip.)

As for Elmer, we didn't even kid him any more—just passed him up like a white chip.

1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post:

(transitive, obsolete, US, simile) To reject or ignore; to treat as worthless.


like strange bulldogs

strange is used with the sense of unfamiliar, unacquainted.

When I think of those folks, living in one room and getting along like a couple of strange bulldogs, I feel like stringing with the man who says that we get our hell on this earth sometimes.

"Some disagreement," admitted Harmon, grinning. "These up-State farmers and I love each other like a couple of strange bulldogs. Still—"

1918, Holworthy Hall, The Man Nobody Knew:

These three got along like strange bulldogs, due to the fact that they were all captains and no privates when the three of them were together.

1925, The First Yale Unit: A Story of Naval Aviation, 1916-1919:

(simile, dated, of two or more people) Wary and unfriendly; on the verge of a fight.


good as wheat in the bin

en-adj

good as wheat in the bin (not comparable)

Then write to any of the banks mentioned, to any rating agency, to any financial house, and they will tell you that here is an opportunity that is as good as wheat in the bin.

1917, Pearson's Magazine, volume 38, page 43:

He can get more potatoes on the strength of a telegram to some place or other than John D. Rockefeller can get on collateral, for everybody knows The Sky's word is as good as wheat in the bin.

1989, David Wheeler, No, But I Saw the Movie, page 167:

(US, simile, dated) Perfectly good, sound, or reliable.


stitched up like a kipper

stitched up like a kipper (not comparable)

Probably from done up like a kipper and stitch up, or directly from kipper and stitch up.

(simile, UK, slang) cheated or exploited; treated unfairly


age like milk

en-verb

age like milk (third-person singular simple present ages like milk, present participle aging like milk or ageing like milk, simple past and past participle aged like milk)

ages like milk (present singular third-person)
aging like milk (participle present)
ageing like milk (participle present)
aged like milk (participle past)
aged like milk (past)

Due to milk’s tendency to go bad quickly.

While rewatching this movie after twenty years, I realized that it had aged like milk.

(simile) To age very badly; to look bad in hindsight, or after time has passed.


mute as a mouse

quiet as a mouse
quiet as a mouse#English


bald as a billiard ball

en-adj

bald as a billiard ball (not comparable)

(simile, derogatory) Completely bald; having no hair at all.


solid as the Rock of Gibraltar

solid as the Rock of Gibraltar (not comparable)

(simile) Utterly solid, firm, or reliable.


bald as a bladder of lard

bald as a bladder of lard (not comparable)

(simile, archaic) Completely bald; having no hair at all.


swear like a cutter

en-verb

swear like a cutter (third-person singular simple present swears like a cutter, present participle swearing like a cutter, simple past swore like a cutter, past participle sworn like a cutter)

swears like a cutter (present singular third-person)
swearing like a cutter (participle present)
swore like a cutter (past)
sworn like a cutter (participle past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-swear like a cutter.wav

Patrick swore like a cutter as Antonia rushed to the minister as if he were about to rescue her from all evil. Mayhap she thought that was so, but the minister was frozen like Lot's wife.

2015, Jo Ann Ferguson, A Model Marriage:

Shouting at the top of his lungs and swearing like a cutter, Chip raged at the voices which were shoving him to the brink.

2017, Stanley Campbell, The Legend of Chip: The Legend Begins:

(archaic, simile) Synonym of swear like a trooper


like one o'clock

Brought up as a gentleman, he was, if ever a man was. Ed’cated at no end of expense. Went into the Marshal’s house once to try a new piano for him. Played it, I understand, like one o’clock—beautiful! As to languages—speaks anything.

1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC:

I went over the fence like a shot, and ran like one o'clock for the trap, cussing and swearing as I went.

1899, H. G. Wells, Mr. Brisher's Treasure:

(UK, simile, slang, obsolete) Very quickly or vigorously.


pale as milk

O ſiſters three, come, come, to mee, / With hands as pale as milke, / Lay them in gore, ſince you haue ſhore / With ſheeres, his threede of ſilke.

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

Très amusant, cheri.^([sic]) You look as pale as milk. Are you coming down with something?

1990 December, Stephen King, “The Moving Finger”, in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction; republished in Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Signet, published 1994, 1993, page 233:


demure as a whore at a christening

as demure as an old whore at a christening


cute as a bug in a rug

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cute as a bug in a rug.wav


crooked as a barrel of snakes

(US, simile, informal) Very untrustworthy.


stick like shit to a blanket

stick like shit to a blanket (third-person singular simple present sticks like shit to a blanket, present participle sticking like shit to a blanket, simple past and past participle stuck like shit to a blanket)

sticks like shit to a blanket (present singular third-person)
sticking like shit to a blanket (participle present)
stuck like shit to a blanket (participle past)
stuck like shit to a blanket (past)

(vulgar, simile) Synonym of stick like shit


stick like shit

stick like shit (third-person singular simple present sticks like shit, present participle sticking like shit, simple past and past participle stuck like shit)

sticks like shit (present singular third-person)
sticking like shit (participle present)
stuck like shit (participle past)
stuck like shit (past)

'But you know what a nickname is like – it sticks like shit.'

2011, Howard Jacobson, In the Land of Oz, page 191:

(slang, vulgar, simile) To be very tenacious, or be very difficult to get rid of.


crooked as a barrel of fish hooks

(US, simile, informal) Very unscrupulous and deceptive.


red as a lobster

From the characteristic color of a cooked lobster.

(simile) Bright red in color, especially from a bad sunburn.


cold as death

The night was growing colder, and there was a small sharp wind stirring from the east. But hot or cold, it was all one to him, who was already cold as death.

1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:


sure as death

"It was naething to make a wark about. It was just yon windy yonder in the library that is nae windy. And it was open as sure's death. You may laugh if you like. Is that a' she's wantin' wi' me?"

1896, Margaret Oliphant, The Library Window:


clear as print

(simile) Synonym of plain as print (“very clear or obvious”)


single as a Pringle

Clint was a handsome guy—and everyone in Braxville knew she was single as a Pringle.

2020, Kimberly Van Meter, Colton's Amnesia Target, Harlequin, →ISBN:

“[…]I was single as a Pringle for three years…” “To be fair, Pringles aren't usually single. They come in stacks,” he interrupted.

2022, Tobey Kay Miller, Vulnerable Edges, →ISBN:

(simile, humorous) Very much single; having no romantic involvement with anybody else.


hard as the nether millstone

en-adj

hard as the nether millstone (not comparable)

A reference to a Biblical passage, Job 41:24.

(simile, archaic) Very callous or hardhearted.


game as Ned Kelly

(Australia, simile, informal) Extremely game or courageous.


Australian as a meat pie

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Australian as a meat pie.wav

(simile) Having characteristics considered quintessential to Australians; very Australian.


innocent as a newborn babe

innocent as a newborn babe (not comparable)


look like something the cat dragged in

en-verb

look like something the cat dragged in (third-person singular simple present looks like something the cat dragged in, present participle looking like something the cat dragged in, simple past and past participle looked like something the cat dragged in)

looks like something the cat dragged in (present singular third-person)

From the habit of domestic cats of bringing home the remains of killed animals.

look like something the cat's dragged in

(simile) To have a very dishevelled or untidy appearance.


go down like a lead zeppelin

go<goes,,went,gone> down like a lead zeppelin

go down like a lead zeppelin (third-person singular simple present goes down like a lead zeppelin, present participle going down like a lead zeppelin, simple past went down like a lead zeppelin, past participle gone down like a lead zeppelin)

goes down like a lead zeppelin (present singular third-person)
going down like a lead zeppelin (participle present)
went down like a lead zeppelin (past)
gone down like a lead zeppelin (participle past)

(simile) To fall precipitately; to plummet.

(simile) To be received negatively by others.


go over like a lead zeppelin

go<goes,,went,gone> over like a lead zeppelin

go over like a lead zeppelin (third-person singular simple present goes over like a lead zeppelin, present participle going over like a lead zeppelin, simple past went over like a lead zeppelin, past participle gone over like a lead zeppelin)

goes over like a lead zeppelin (present singular third-person)
going over like a lead zeppelin (participle present)
went over like a lead zeppelin (past)
gone over like a lead zeppelin (participle past)


rare as rocking horse shit

en-adj

rare as rocking horse shit (not comparable)

(simile, vulgar) Extremely rare or scarce.


sure as shit

Stuff your sorries in a sack and give 'em to somebody who gives a crap cause sure as shit ain't me.

2019 December, Justin Blackburn, The Bisexual Christian Suburban Failure Enlightening Bipolar Blues, page 51:


stick out like dog's balls

en-verb

stick out like dog's balls (third-person singular simple present sticks out like dog's balls, present participle sticking out like dog's balls, simple past and past participle stuck out like dog's balls)

sticks out like dog's balls (present singular third-person)
sticking out like dog's balls (participle present)
stuck out like dog's balls (participle past)
stuck out like dog's balls (past)

Referring to the obviousness of a domestic dog's testicles.

We had stopped in a newly ploughed mealie (maize) field, out in the open, sticking out like dog's balls.

2014, Andrew Balaam, Bush War Operator, page 52:

The moment of my life that sticks out like dog's balls are the times when my family was being split up and placed in institutions.

2017, Jacqueline Z. Wilson, Sarah Hodgkinson, Justin Piché, The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Tourism, page 333:

With our height above the Viets, we stick out like dog's balls as it is.

2018, Edward Bowman, A Year in the Life of a Vietnam Adviser:

(simile) Be very noticeably different, especially in a negative way; to be particularly obtrusive, conspicuous, blatant, or prominent; to attract undue attention or notice.


charge like a wounded bull

charge<charges,,charged,charged> like a wounded bull

charge like a wounded bull (third-person singular simple present charges like a wounded bull, present participle charging like a wounded bull, simple past and past participle charged like a wounded bull)

charges like a wounded bull (present singular third-person)
charging like a wounded bull (participle present)
charged like a wounded bull (participle past)
charged like a wounded bull (past)

(informal, simile) To charge exorbitant prices.


calm as a cucumber

cool as a cucumber
cool as a cucumber#English


single as a dollar bill

en-adj

single as a dollar bill (not comparable)

(simile) Very much single; having no romantic involvement with anybody else.


quicker than scat

Pop! went his gun, and the fire ran down the hill quicker than scat!

1865, Charles Carleton Coffin, Winning His Way, page 7:

I guess he didn't think we'd seen him 'cause, quicker than scat, he jumped 'hind er big oak tree an' in er minute or two he came out and started trudgin' 'long towards whar we wus standin'; but he had left ther fish 'hind ther tree.

1912 July, M. R. Umberhind, “Henry Holman's Pilgrimage”, in National Magazine, page 422:

But that same bully was quicker than scat to rat her out when she retaliated and gave him a severe pounding when she was bigger.

2020, Christianne Van Keuren, Sylvan Elf Chronicles: Battle for Elvenfeld, page 24:

(simile, US) very quickly, in a great hurry.


work like a nailer

en-verb

work like a nailer (third-person singular simple present works like a nailer, present participle working like a nailer, simple past and past participle worked like a nailer)

works like a nailer (present singular third-person)
working like a nailer (participle present)
worked like a nailer (participle past)
worked like a nailer (past)

Boyce was working away like a nailer at His Grace's colt, an exertion he might have spared himself , but that it is necessary to do something for one's money

1834 September, Craven, "Goodwood Races – Tuesday, July 29", The Sporting Magazine (London) s. 2, vol. 9, no. 53, p. 388

You might as well understand in the beginning that he'll have to work like a nailer for a good many years before he gets anywhere in the diplomatic service

1918, George Barr McCutcheon, The City of Masks, New York: Dodd, Mead, page 191:

Lee had to work like a nailer to get the awkward craft turned about, and then by great labor at the crank "for the space of five glasses by the ships' bells, or two and a half hours," at last he arrived under the stern of what he felt certain was the Eagle.

1947 January 13, Stewart H. Holnrook, “Lost Men of American History”, in Life, volume 22, number 2, New York, page 84:


busy as a nailer

So the Colonel went down stairs, and the Ould Fellow worked away as busy as a nailer, shovellin' in the guineas by hundherds and thousands.

1832 Samuel Lover "The Devil's Mill" Legends and Stories of Ireland (Dublin: Wakeman) 2nd ed., p. 139

The result was obvious; the nailer was no longer “as busy as a nailer,” and there was no prospect that he ever would be fully employed.

1888, Pennsylvania Secretary of Internal Affairs, Bureau of Industrial Statistics; Annual Report for 1887 (Harrisburg: E. K. Meyers) "G: The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers" p. 24

… she would be as busy as a nailer in the Abbey Shop ensuring that Mass cards were ready for those who came, and helping out in any other way she could.

2017 May 30, Noel Dundon, "Appreciation: The Late Eileesh Quirke, Holycross" Tipperary Star (Thurles)

(simile, idiomatic, dated, Ireland) working constantly.


proud as Lucifer

(simile) Very proud of one's status or person; haughty.


giddy as a windmill

I will e'en ascend thee, thou biped perilous!—but not fast, not fast; for I am giddy as a windmill, and the wits are flying out of me in legions.

1837, Thomas Tod Stoddart, Angling Reminiscences, page 130:

We then entered, and winding through staircases, and entries, and corridors, till I was as giddy as a windmill, we came at last to a cell, into which we were admitted by a priest.

1856, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, The Travels, Voyages, and Adventures of Gilbert Go-ahead: In Foreign Parts, page 169:

I'm as giddy as a windmill. I've been sitting in the sun all day. Come tomorrow. Bring the girl. She's a dear girl. A Burgoyne I'll swear. I must get to bed. Help me into my room. The sun was so very powerful this afternoon.

1907, Ernest George Henham, Arminel of the West, page 252:


off like a dirty shirt

(slang, humorous, simile) Going away; taking one's departure.


go down like a sack of potatoes

go<goes,,went,gone> down like a sack of potatoes

go down like a sack of potatoes (third-person singular simple present goes down like a sack of potatoes, present participle going down like a sack of potatoes, simple past went down like a sack of potatoes, past participle gone down like a sack of potatoes)

goes down like a sack of potatoes (present singular third-person)
going down like a sack of potatoes (participle present)
went down like a sack of potatoes (past)
gone down like a sack of potatoes (participle past)

(simile, informal) To fall hard and fast; to fall ungracefully.


sweat like a whore in church

sweat like a whore in church (third-person singular simple present sweats like a whore in church, present participle sweating like a whore in church, simple past and past participle sweated like a whore in church)

sweats like a whore in church (present singular third-person)
sweating like a whore in church (participle present)
sweated like a whore in church (participle past)
sweated like a whore in church (past)

(simile, slang, vulgar) To sweat profusely; to produce a lot of perspiration.


sweat like a hooker in church

sweat like a hooker in church (third-person singular simple present sweats like a hooker in church, present participle sweating like a hooker in church, simple past and past participle sweated like a hooker in church)

sweats like a hooker in church (present singular third-person)
sweating like a hooker in church (participle present)
sweated like a hooker in church (participle past)
sweated like a hooker in church (past)

(simile, informal) To sweat profusely; to produce a lot of perspiration.


hard as Chinese algebra

en-adj

hard as Chinese algebra (not comparable)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hard as Chinese algebra.wav

Algebra and the Chinese language are both widely reputed as difficult to learn.

(simile, humorous) Very hard in texture, especially: having a very firm erection.


dumb like a fox

(informal) Sly and cunning, while deliberately giving the misleading impression of being stupid or foolish.


plain as Salisbury

Presumably a pun on Salisbury Plain, or perhaps in reference to the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, which can be seen at a distance.

‘Your chummage ticket,’ replied Mr. Roker; ‘you’re up to that?’
‘Not quite,’ replied Mr. Pickwick, with a smile.
‘Why,’ said Mr. Roker, ‘it’s as plain as Salisbury. You’ll have a chummage ticket upon twenty-seven in the third, and them as is in the room will be your chums.’

1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:

If I can't show you I've come by them honestly, perhaps you'd rather not have them, though, if nicely cooked and dished up, I'll be bound they can be made to prove, as plain as Salisbury, that you've no more right to the estate — nor to the name of Kerr, for all that — than that gentleman yonder.

1893, Egerton Castle, Consequences, page 248:

(UK, simile, informal, dated) Synonym of plain as day.


en-proverb

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb

(simile) The weather in the Northern Hemisphere tends to be unpleasant at the start of March but pleasant at the end.


change like seasons

en-verb

change like seasons (third-person singular simple present changes like seasons, present participle changing like seasons, simple past and past participle changed like seasons)

changes like seasons (present singular third-person)
changing like seasons (participle present)
changed like seasons (participle past)
changed like seasons (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-change like seasons.wav

While searching for a verbose reply
In hopes to catch her attention, I sighed
Because she doesn't even see
How strong she is
And how trivial the perils of love can truly be
As the conversation lengthened
And topics began to change like seasons
She decided to dig a little deeper

2018 May 31, Nia B, I am Nobody. Who are you? Are you Nobody, too?, Lulu.com, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 68:

Well, that's the reason, he says,
“People change like seasons,
Without any reasons...”

2020 May 30, Kartik Dhumawat, Strangership, FanatiXx Publication, page 22:

Our minds and emotions are changing like seasons. It stays for a short period but as soon as the situation changes, our emotions about the situation change along with it.

2021 May 11, Pran Saikia, The Truth About Happiness, Pran Saikia, →ISBN, page 69:

[…], world is running madly, the people now might rage with passion for power, money and maltitude^([sic]) of pleasures, where fashions and styles change like seasons, children have glued their eyes to mobiles, tabs, computers...

2022 February 15, Sai Eswar, A Journey with Jesus, Rosewood Publication, page 10:

(intransitive, simile) To change quickly, inevitably, and without a rationale.


age like a fine wine

age like a fine wine (third-person singular simple present ages like a fine wine, present participle aging like a fine wine or ageing like a fine wine, simple past and past participle aged like a fine wine)

ages like a fine wine (present singular third-person)
aging like a fine wine (participle present)
ageing like a fine wine (participle present)
aged like a fine wine (participle past)
aged like a fine wine (past)

Due to the perception that wine improves with age.

(simile) To age well; to look or become better as they become older.


party like it's 1999

party<> like it's<it's,it's,it was:it's> 1999

party like it's 1999 (third-person singular simple present parties like it's 1999, present participle partying like it's 1999, simple past and past participle partied like it was 1999 or partied like it's 1999)

parties like it's 1999 (present singular third-person)
partying like it's 1999 (participle present)
partied like it was 1999 (participle past)
partied like it was 1999 (past)
partied like it's 1999 (participle past)
partied like it's 1999 (past)

From the Prince song called 1999 and released in 1982. The song uses the phrase in reference to a nuclear apocalypse predicted to occur in the year 2000, but it was later reinterpreted as meaning that a turn of the millennium calls for a particularly large celebration.

This past year the girls in Laughlin worked hard at protesting Chatham's prohibition and at getting a reputation for the best parties in town. They succeeded at living up to their theme — Party Like it's 1999!

1983, “Laughlin Hall”, in Amita Chaudhary, editor, Cornerstone, Chatham College, page 117:

The European Union is not an organisation to do things by halves, particularly when it comes to a celebration. This time Europe will party like it's 1999. Or more precisely 1 May, 2004.

2004 April 18, Kamal Ahmed, “EU approves €6m welcome party for new members”, in The Guardian:

[…] I was deep in the streets with ole friends and new ones, drinking (as usual), spot hopping and partying like it was 1999.

2014, Ms. Betty [pseudonym], Ain't that bout' a b*tch, Xlibris, →ISBN, page 92:

(idiomatic, simile) To party intensely, particularly when reckless or pessimistic.


like atomic clockwork

(simile, uncommon) With absolute regularity and precision; faultlessly.


paper wall

They can even hear me yawn, what with these paper walls.

2013 October 18, Marcia Munson, Judith Stelboum, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader: Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Casual Sex, Routledge, →ISBN:

(simile) A thin wall, especially if poorly soundproof.


Australian as a kangaroo

en-adj

Australian as a kangaroo (not comparable)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Australian as a kangaroo.wav

(simile) Having characteristics considered quintessential to Australians; very Australian.


dumb as a brick

thick as a brick
thick as a brick#English


work like a mule

en-verb

work like a mule (third-person singular simple present works like a mule, present participle working like a mule, simple past and past participle worked like a mule)

works like a mule (present singular third-person)
working like a mule (participle present)
worked like a mule (participle past)
worked like a mule (past)


clear as a mirror

(simile) Totally clear; visibly distinct.


speak like a book

speak like a book (third-person singular simple present speaks like a book, present participle speaking like a book, simple past spoke like a book, past participle spoken like a book)

speaks like a book (present singular third-person)
speaking like a book (participle present)
spoke like a book (past)
spoken like a book (participle past)

talk like a book
talk like a book#English


as balls

bro i'm eepy as balls rn like i'm comfymaxxing so hard under my covers as we speak fr

(postpositive, slang, vulgar, simile) To a great extent or degree; very.


safe as a kitten in a box

en-adj

safe as a kitten in a box (not comparable)

safe as a kitten
safe as a kitten#English


safe as a kitten in a basket

safe as a kitten in a basket (not comparable)


like a dog with two tails

In reference to a dog wagging its tail to express positive feelings.


near as a toucher

(simile, slang, dated) Very close indeed; as near as possible without actually touching.


like a pakapoo ticket

(Australia, informal, simile) Very messily scrawled; illegible.


eat like an animal

en-verb

eat like an animal (third-person singular simple present eats like an animal, present participle eating like an animal, simple past ate like an animal, past participle eaten like an animal)

eats like an animal (present singular third-person)
eating like an animal (participle present)
ate like an animal (past)
eaten like an animal (participle past)

Troponyms: eat like a pig, wolf, wolf down

Coordinate term: eat like a horse

You eat like an animal!

(simile, informal) To eat large amounts of food, especially when in a greedy and sloppy manner.


pale as a ghost

white as a sheet
white as a sheet#English


faithful as a dog

His old butler was as faithful as a dog.


like speaking to a wall

like talking to a wall
like talking to a wall#English

Alternative form of like talking to a wall


like the bottom of a birdcage

At ten to one, Sid slouched in with an overflowing briefcase in one hand and a basketball under his arm, complaining of a hangover. 'Mouth like the bottom of a birdcage.'

1999, Ray Smith, The Man who Loved Jane Austen, page 158:

Does the bottom of your mouth taste like the bottom of a birdcage? Did you make a fool of yourself last night? Or don't you remember?

2009, Elisabeth Blandford, How to Write the Best Research Paper Ever!, page 49:

(simile) Very foul-tasting; said of a person's mouth after heavy drinking etc.


conceited as a barber's cat

en-adj

conceited as a barber's cat (not comparable)


high as giraffe pussy

(simile, slang, vulgar) Very high (intoxicated by drugs).


hard as a rock

(simile) Very hard (tough, inflexible); rock hard.


high as a Georgia pine

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-high as a Georgia pine.wav

Very much under the influence of drugs; extremely high.


lie like a rug

en-verb

lie like a rug (third-person singular simple present lies like a rug, present participle lying like a rug, simple past and past participle lied like a rug)

lies like a rug (present singular third-person)
lying like a rug (participle present)
lied like a rug (participle past)
lied like a rug (past)

lie like a cheap rug
lie like a cheap rug#English

(simile) Alternative form of lie like a cheap rug


light up like a Christmas tree

light up like a Christmas tree (third-person singular simple present lights up like a Christmas tree, present participle lighting up like a Christmas tree, simple past and past participle lit up like a Christmas tree)

lights up like a Christmas tree (present singular third-person)
lighting up like a Christmas tree (participle present)
lit up like a Christmas tree (participle past)
lit up like a Christmas tree (past)

(informal, simile) To become very brightly lit.


ready as I'll ever be

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-ready as I'll ever be.wav

(simile) Quite ready; prepared for something.


like mushrooms

(simile) Very quickly and in great quantity.


like a kid at Christmas

(simile, informal) Very delighted and excited.

think all one's Christmases have come at once


weak as piss

This home-made wine is weak as piss.

He's weak as piss. He has no chance in a fight.

(simile, vulgar) Very weak (in various senses).


jealous as a Barbary pigeon

en-adj

jealous as a Barbary pigeon (not comparable)

Rosemary loved her daddy, but she didn't have him long, and she was as jealous as a Barbary pigeon.

2020, V. C. Andrews, Beneath the Attic, page 185:


as nervous as a witch

(as) nervous as a witch (not comparable)

The nerves often get clogged up, or choked up, both inside and outside: they get clogged up by humours settling on them, [...] and you become as nervous as a witch. Then again, the nervous fluid. what used to be called the animal spirits, or the marrow of the nerve, get thick and clogged; and all obstruction in it must be forced out.

1871, Donald Kennedy, Kennedy on diseases of the skin, page 94:

[…] "a pinch always makes me start up as nervous as a witch, and I never could talk sense during an electric storm. I feel nervous now just to think of it."

2021 November 5, Henry Pettit, A Twentieth Century Idealist, Good Press:

(US, especially Northeastern US) Very nervous or restless.


sure as death and taxes

en-adv

sure as death and taxes (not comparable)


big as the Beatles

Teen-agers sing out his name / Big as the Beatles / Sing out in chorus / Everybody loves Lyndon Baines!

1964, Tedd Browne (lyrics and music), “Everybody Loves Lyndon”, in LBJ Musical Portrait:

Wendell [Burton] stated that he feels Crosby, Stills, and Nash could be as big as the Beatles if they wanted to be since they compose their own music and back themselves up instrumentally.

1970 September 7, “Review”, in Psyche Pscene:


free as the wind

(simile) Having no ties; completely free.


grin like a mule eating briars

en-verb

grin like a mule eating briars (third-person singular simple present grins like a mule eating briars, present participle grinning like a mule eating briars, simple past and past participle grinned like a mule eating briars)

grins like a mule eating briars (present singular third-person)
grinning like a mule eating briars (participle present)
grinned like a mule eating briars (participle past)
grinned like a mule eating briars (past)

(US, simile, colloquial) To grin very widely.


gentle as a lamb

(simile, idiomatic) Very caring and calm.


quick as lightning

In allusion to the rapidity of flashes of lightning.


common as bums

Bruises and bumps in the Kentucky camp were as common as bums at a free barbecue.

1938 October 25, “Wildcats Fall Before Xavier 26-7 at Cincy”, in The Kentucky Kernel, volume 29, number 12, Lexington, Kentucky, page 1:

He made a face. "What for? You don't want a vineyard there. They're as common as bums; everybody's got one."

1958, D'Arcy Niland, Call Me when the Cross Turns Over, Angus & Robertson, →ISBN, White Lion Publishers, →ISBN, page 104:

It was a long afternoon for those on the drink and the violence on the field was more often than not mirrored on the hill. Fistfights were as common as bums and people abandoned their picnic blankets to make room for the combatants. Many patrons lost full buckets of chips and pies in the mad scramble.

2011 March 15, David Butler, “Almanac Rugby League – The making of a Swannies fan”, in The Footy Almanac, archived from the original on 2022-06-26:

Tattoos were once solely used as a code by bikies and molls, the armed forces, crims and dykes to send a "I’m one of you", or "approach at your own risk", message ("In inky seas, tatts jumped the shark", June 1). Going by what I see in the changing room at my gym these days, they are now purely ornamental – and as common as bums.

2014 June 7, Alicia Dawson, The Sydney Morning Herald, archived from the original on 2023-11-18, Tatts take over:

"These kinds of thefts are common as bums at a soup kitchen," Ed said, yawning.

(Australia, US, simile, colloquial) Very common or mundane (in various senses).


happy as a possum up a gum tree

en-adj

happy as a possum up a gum tree (not comparable)


quick as thought

Quick as thought, I sprang into the mizzen shrouds, rattled up hand over hand, and did not draw a breath till I was seated on the cross-trees.

1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:


busy as a one-armed paper hanger

busy as a one-armed paper hanger (not comparable)

busy as a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest


sharp as a butter knife

sharp as a butter knife (not comparable)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sharp as a butter knife.wav

(simile, humorous) Not very intelligent.


hard as brazil

Why, the wood 's as hard as Brazil! He must have spent weeks and weeks about it, let alone the cleverness of thing. Our carpenters would find it a job to make another sich a one; it ought fetch sum'mut homesomdever.

1842 June, Edward Daniell, “The Old Coffer”, in The Court Magazine & Monthly Critic, volume IX, London: Dobbs & Co, →OCLC, page 431:

Mr. R. Davies writes from Warrington: […] any hard wood described as being as 'hard as Bràzil'; and so on, though these old provincialisms are fast dying out before the schools of to-day.

1894 October 6, R. Davies, quotee, “Literary Gossip”, in The Athenæum, number 3493, page 459, column 1:

It was but last Night that, the Supper not being to madam's liking, she found the Mutton as sour as a wig, and the Potatoes as hard as Brazil; and she told me afterwards that she should never endure the Cook-maid, though the Wench had been as fess as Cox's pig to enter her service.

1901 August 24, “Wiltshire Words”, in Literature, number 201, London: The Times, page 191, column 1:

(simile, dialectal, archaic) Extremely hard.


quiet as a church mouse

(simile, idiomatic) Alternative form of quiet as a mouse


crazier than a June bug

crazier than a June bug (not comparable)

(US, colloquial, simile) Completely crazy; insane.


busy as a dyke in a hardware store

For quotations using this term, see Citations:busy as a dyke in a hardware store.

(slang, simile, somewhat derogatory, rare) Extremely busy.


like a dog with two dicks

(slang, vulgar, simile) Sexually voracious.


stink like a polecat

en-verb

stink like a polecat (third-person singular simple present stinks like a polecat, present participle stinking like a polecat, simple past stank like a polecat, past participle stunk like a polecat)

stinks like a polecat (present singular third-person)
stinking like a polecat (participle present)
stank like a polecat (past)
stunk like a polecat (participle past)

The European polecat ejects a foul-smelling secretion.

(simile) to have a bad smell, mostly referring to human body odor


hoarse as a crow

I went upstairs and downstairs, inside and out — shouted myself hoarse as a crow — nothing was to be seen of Marjorie, — or heard; […]


like a rat from a sinking ship

like rats from a sinking ship
like rats from a sinking ship#English

(simile) Alternative form of like rats from a sinking ship


like a monkey on a stick

(simile, informal) To be restless and agitated.


like robbing a baby

like taking candy from a baby
like taking candy from a baby#English

(simile) Synonym of like taking candy from a baby


quick as winking

And then I got a shock, for a couple of ragged patriots standing close by, leaned over as Elliot moved, their eyes shining viciously, and quick as winking out came their pops, and I saw them ready and willing, yes, darned anxious to shoot.

1916, Adventure, volume 13, numbers 1-3, page 129:


en-adv

sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow (not comparable)

From the fact that the Sun will indisputably rise the following day.

It's going to stay there, and I'm going to be able to bank that money someday as sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow.

1995, Lyle Stuart, Winning at Casino Gambling, Lyle Stuart, →ISBN, page 316:

Chuck: I don't know much about you folks, but I can tell you, sure as the sun's gon' come up tomorrow, that y'all keep going on like this and that girl ain't gonna make it.

2012 August 28, Telltale Games, The Walking Dead, Windows, Mac OS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, Kindle Fire:

As sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow, you know that at some point, interest rates will rise again.

2014 August 29, Doyle Shuler, The Barefoot Retirement Plan:

Just as sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow, we are going to move this process forward.

2020 September 9, Rachel McDevitt, quoting Steve Santarsiero, “Bill to keep Pa. out of regional cap-and-trade program passes, but faces governor’s veto”, in WHYY:

sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow morning

sure as the sun is going to rise tomorrow morning


green as grass

(idiomatic, simile, colloquial) Inexperienced or naive.


nuttier than squirrel shit

From the double meaning of the word nutty: containing nuts, like in the excrement of a squirrel; and crazy.

He was a marked man; it would be like strapping a target to his chest and crossing a rifle range. This is nuttier than squirrel shit.

2007 November 1, Stephen Walton, Jack, →ISBN, page 275:

I mean, I know that Drusilla has considered Lucy her soulmate since Lucy got her the part of a plum in a yogurt advert, but the woman is nuttier than squirrel shit.

2010 May 26, Ben Elton, Inconceivable, Delta Publishing, →ISBN:

"Is that what she's got?" George said. "I just thought she was nuttier than squirrel shit."

2024 February 6, Craig Conrad, The Wind Walker, Xlibris, →ISBN:

(simile, slang, vulgar) Very nutty; crazy.


nuttier than squirrel poop

Stewart—in his tussles with various anchors at the nework^([sic])—made a big issue about them laying off President Bush while going after Obama—which, as I've said before in other places, is nuttier than squirrel poop.

2014 January 7, Greg Gutfeld, The Joy of Hate, Crown Forum, →ISBN, page 53:

They wouldn't understand how I could love someone who had hurt so many—who had hurt me too. And yet...I had loved him. I'd loved my father too. Love wasn't ever rational, but in my case, it was nuttier than squirrel poop.

2017 September 9, Meghan O’Flynn, Redemption, Pygmalion Publishing, →ISBN:

You'll soon see I'm nuttier than squirrel poop, but don't let me scare you away.

2019 February 5, Yara Zgheib, The Girls at 17 Swann Street, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN:

(simile, slang, somewhat childish) Very nutty; crazy.


Sodom and Gomorrah

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Sodom and Gomorrah.wav

From the names of the cities in the Middle East which, according to the Hebrew Bible and to Islamic tradition, were destroyed by God for the sins of their inhabitants. More at Sodom and Gomorrah.

Pattaya has a reported 27,000 prostitutes, roughly one for every five people living permanently in the east-coast city that has been likened to a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.

2017 February 16, Chris Baynes, “Inside the world's sex capital: City dubbed ‘modern day Sodom and Gomorrah’ with highest number of prostitutes anywhere”, in Daily Mirror:

(simile) A city or place full of sin and vice.


like a man possessed

like a man possessed (comparative more like a man possessed, superlative most like a man possessed)

more like a man possessed (comparative)
most like a man possessed (superlative)

(idiomatic, simile, colloquial) In a energetic or uncontrolled way.


age like vinegar

en-verb

age like vinegar (third-person singular simple present ages like vinegar, present participle aging like vinegar or ageing like vinegar, simple past and past participle aged like vinegar)

ages like vinegar (present singular third-person)
aging like vinegar (participle present)
ageing like vinegar (participle present)
aged like vinegar (participle past)
aged like vinegar (past)


more confusing than a Rubik's cube

From the perceived complexity in solving a Rubik's cube.

We’ve all been there – a conference with a less than exciting keynote speech, panel discussions that don’t connect with the audience and PowerPoint presentations that are more confusing than a Rubik’s Cube.

2014 August 18, Rebecca Bagley, “How 'Unconferences' Unleash Innovative Ideas”, in Forbes:

The contradictions were more confusing than a Rubik's Cube.

2015 September, Cynthia Reese, Anna Adams, Cerella Sechrist, Loree Lough, Harlequin Heartwarming September 2015 Box Set, →ISBN:

The pricing plans can be more confusing than a Rubik's cube!

2020 November 24, John Longo, Tyler Longo, Buffett's Tips, →ISBN, page 225:


face like a fiddle

en-noun

face like a fiddle (plural faces like fiddles)

'She's got the wiffle-woffles,' said her mother. 'She was all right when she came back […] but now she just mopes around, face like a fiddle. […]'

2006, Bowering Sivers, Jammy Dodgers Go Underground, page 347:

(colloquial, simile) A long face; a melancholy expression.


like a wolf on the fold

(simile, literary, dated) In a sudden or aggressive manner.


dead as Hector

Referencing the story of Hector, a Trojan hero in Greek mythology and a character in Homer's Iliad, who leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, and is ultimately killed in single combat by Achilles, who later drags his dead body around the city of Troy behind his chariot.

[…] if a man, on coming up to his old friend’s cottage, finds the owner staring him in the face over a stile, all the while as dead as Hector,—still the answer is,—“Why, to be sure, all this is rather absurd; but then, Sir, consider the power.”

1823 July, “Scottish Novels of the Second Class”, in The Edinburgh Magazine and Literary Miscellany, volume 13, Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Company, page 4:


like kicking dead whales down the beach

Originating in computer programming jargon.

I have a full backup, but restoring 213 MB of data from one oppy to another with a single drive, even using dd and big packets, is going to be like kicking dead whales down the beach. Is there an easier way?

1993 September 16, Joshua W. Burton, “OD has no more alternates for remap -- should I worry?”, in comp.sys.next.hardware (Usenet):

“How’s it going?” I asked. ¶ “Swimmingly, man. Like kicking dead whales down the beach.”

1998 April, Mark Fabi, “Wall Street Walpurgisnacht” (chapter 3), in Wyrm, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 65:

(simile, slang, of a task, process, etc.) Very slow and difficult.

like kicking a dead whale down the beach


as Australian as Vegemite

en-adj

as Australian as Vegemite (not comparable)

(simile) Describing someone or something that is indisputably mainstream Australian.


funny as a dose of the clap

funny as a dose of the clap (not comparable)

(simile, colloquial) Not at all amusing.