Tracy Crump’s List of Clichés Sayings, homilies, maxims, truisms, old saws, proverbs, aphorisms, euphemisms, figures of speech, adages, axioms. Whatever you want to call them, clichés are the everyday expressions we've grown up with and express exactly the right sentiment for the occasion. They are familiar and comforting, like an old bathrobe, and I love them. Unfortunately, editors don't. (Read To Cliché or Not to Cliché to see why.) Nevertheless, I made my own collection of clichés over the past few years, accumulated bit by bit from my reading, experience, family, and even television. Most of them are old, but a few have cropped up more recently. I've amassed over 1600 (with a little help from my friends) and posted them here for your enjoyment. I once started a list of common sayings from the Bible and was surprised by how much of our everyday speech stems from Scripture. You will see Scripture references next to those I've found. Most come from the King James Version, and some may be derived from the meaning of the text rather than an exact quote. If you enjoy these, you may want to visit other cliché sites. The best I’ve found is ClicheSite.com, which includes each cliché’s meaning and in some cases, its origin. The Cliché Finder is another excellent source of clichés. A Apple of my eye Above all else April showers bring May flowers Above board [He would] argue with a fence post Absence makes the heart grow fonder [He’s been] around the block [He's an] accident waiting to happen As American as apple pie According to the letter of the law As bald as a billiard ball Ace in the hole As bald as an egg Actions speak louder than words As black as coal Act your age, not your IQ As black as night Add insult to injury As black as pitch Add the finishing touches As blind as a bat After while, crocodile As big as a mountain Against all odds As bright as day Agree to disagree As broad as a barn All done in As busy as a beaver All downhill from there As busy as a bee [I’m] all ears As busy as Grand Central Station All is vanity (Ecclesiastes 1:2 and others) As clean as a whistle [In] all kinds of weather As clear as mud All’s fair in love and war As clumsy as an ox All’s well that ends well As comfortable as old shoes All talk and no action As cool as a cucumber All that glitters is not gold As crazy as a Bessie bug [He's] all thumbs As crazy as a loon All tuckered out As crooked as a dog's hind leg Alright already As cute as a bug Always a bridesmaid, never a bride As cute as a button And neither the twain shall meet As cute as a bug Ants in his pants As dead as a doornail Anyone with a lick of sense As different as night and day Apple a day keeps the doctor away As dry as a bone Apple never falls far from the tree As drunk as a skunk Tracy Crump’s List of Clichés As dumb as a box of rocks As sharp as a tack As dumb as a doornail As shiny as a new dime As easy as pie As silent as the grave As excited as a kid at Christmas As skinny as a rail (pole, beanpole) As far as the east is from the west As slick as glass (Psalm 103:12) As slippery as an eel As fast as greased lightning As slow as Christmas As fat as a pig As slow as molasses in winter As fine as frog's hair As sly as a fox As fit as a fiddle As smart as a whip As flat as a pancake As smooth as glass As full as a tick As soft as a baby’s bottom As gentle as a lamb As sour as a lemon As good as dead (Hebrews 11:12) As strong as an ox As green as grass As sweet as honey As happy as a clam As sweet as sugar As happy as a lark As snug as a bug in a rug As happy as a pig in mud (2 Peter 2:22) As stiff as a board As hard as a rock As still as a statue As heavy as lead As stubborn as a mule As high as a kite As sure as you’re born As high as a mountain As the crow flies As honest as the day is long As thick as thieves As hungry as a bear As tough as nails As hungry as a horse As weak as a kitten As if your life depended on it As welcome as the flowers in May Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies As white as a ghost As limp as a dishrag As white as a sheet As light as a feather As white as snow As loose as a goose As wild as a banshee As luck would have it As wise as an owl As mad as a hatter As you may have guessed by now As mad as a hornet At death's door As mad as a wet hen At every turn As mean as a junkyard dog At face value As mean as a snake At his beck and call As nervous as a long-tailed cat in a At my wit’s end (Psalm 107:27) room full of rocking chairs At the drop of a hat As nutty as a fruitcake At the end of my rope As old as dirt Avoid it like the plague As plain as day As plain as the nose on your face B As playful as a kitten Babes in the woods As pleased as punch Back by popular demand As poor as a churchmouse Back in the groove As pretty as a peach Back off As pretty as a picture Back to full steam As proud as a peacock Back to square one As quick as a flash Back with a vengeance As quick as a fox Bad hair day As quick as a wink Bad news travels fast As quiet as a mouse Bad things come in threes As red as a beet Bad to the bone As right as rain Bald-faced lie As sharp as a razor [My] ball and chain Tracy Crump’s List of Clichés Ball’s in your court Birds and the bees [A] banner year Birds of a feather flock together Bare facts Bite your tongue Bare minimum Bit off more than he could chew Barking up the wrong tree Bit the dust Bark is worse than his bite Blanket of snow Barrel of fun Blessed be the ties that bind [He has] bats in his belfry Bless his heart Beat him hands down [A] blessing in disguise Beat him to a pulp Blew his top Beat him to the punch Blondes have more fun [I could] beat him with one hand tied Blood is thicker than water behind my back Blood will tell Beat their swords into plowshares Blow-by-blow account (Isaiah 2:4) Blows my mind Beat them at their own game Blow the socks off him Beat the odds Bolt from the blue [I could] beat the sock off him Bone of contention Beauty is only skin deep [I have a] bone to pick with you Became abundantly clear Boob tube Been there; done that; bought the t-shirt Booby prize Before my very eyes Boot him out Before you can say, “Jack Robinson” Bored silly Beginner’s luck Bored to tears Beginning to get the picture Born with a silver spoon in his mouth Behind every great man is a woman Bosom buddies [I’m] being framed Bottomless pit Be my guest Bottom line is . [I] bent over backwards for him Bought the farm [Let me] bend your ear Bouncing off the walls Benefit of the doubt Boxed his ears Be of good cheer (Matthew 9:2 and others) Bragging rights Be of good courage (Psalm 27:14) Break a leg Be on the lookout Breathed his last Best is yet to come Breathing down my neck Best laid plans of mice and men [He's a] brick shy of a load (or any variation) Best of both worlds Broke my heart Best thing since sliced bread Brought him to his knees Best things in life are free [You've been] buffaloed Be swift to hear and slow to speak (Psalm Buck stops here 90:12) Build a better mousetrap Be there with bells on [Just a] bump in the road [My] better half Burned to a crisp Better late than never Burning the midnight oil Better safe than sorry Burst my bubble Better to run away and live to fight another day Bury the hatchet [I'd] bet the farm on it Busting my chops Between a rock and a hard place Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth [You] bet your (blue) bloomers By all means [You can] bet your life on it By and far Beyond a shadow of a doubt By and large Bide your time By any stretch of the imagination Big fish in a little pond By George, I think he's got it Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush By leaps and bounds Tracy Crump’s List of Clichés By the same token Close but no cigar By the skin of my teeth (Job 19:20 NIV) Clothes make the man By the scruff of his neck Coldhearted Come clean C Comes in handy Called out on the carpet Come what may Calm before the storm Coming down the pike Calm, cool and collected Coming into the home stretch Came out smelling like a rose Coming of age Can I get an amen? Coming out of the woodwork Can't fight his way out of a paper bag Cool your heels Can’t keep a good man down Cost me an arm and a leg (Proverbs 24:16) Costs a pretty penny Can’t see past the end of his own nose Couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn Can’t see the forest for the trees Couldn't hold a candle to him Can’t take no for an answer Couldn’t leave well enough alone Can we talk? (BP) Couldn’t put my finger on it [He’s a] carbon copy of .