 Comparative idioms in English from espressoenglish.net The English language has some idiomatic expressions that emphasize a particular quality of a person or thing by comparing it to something else. For example, imagine you buy a new laptop computer which is extremely thin and light. When describing the laptop, you can say, it's as light as a feather. Comparing your laptop to the feather emphasizes the fact that it is extremely light. Here are five comparative idioms with interesting definitions and origins, and at the end of the lesson, take the quiz to discover twelve more of these idioms. Idiom one, as clear as mud. This idiom means something is confusing or not very clear. Mud is the combination of dirt and water. Mud is brown. It is not clear or transparent. So if something is as clear as mud, it means it is not very clear. Idiom two, as happy as a clam. If someone is as happy as a clam, they are very happy. A clam is a type of shellfish that lives on the beach. The original expression was as happy as a clam at high water. High water is when the ocean level increases and the water covers the beach, protecting the clams from predators, other animals that could eat them. So a clam at high water would be very happy. Idiom three, as fit as a fiddle. Describing someone as fit as a fiddle means the person is in excellent health and excellent physical condition. Fiddle is an old word for an instrument like a violin and musical instruments need to be kept in excellent condition in order to play well. Idiom four, as exciting as watching paint dry. This idiom means something is extremely boring. It is not exciting. When you first apply paint to a wall, the paint is wet. It takes several hours for the paint to dry, but watching this process would be very boring. So if something is as exciting as watching paint dry, it means it is not exciting. Idiom five, as nutty as a fruit cake. Describing someone as nutty as a fruit cake means they are crazy. This idiom uses two definitions of the English word nuts or nutty. Nuts are a type of food and a fruit cake is a type of cake that contains a lot of nuts. The word nuts also means crazy. So if a person is nutty as a fruit cake, it means they are really crazy. Now that you've seen a few examples of comparative idioms in English, scroll down and take the quiz to discover 12 more comparative idioms. Thanks for watching English Tips from Espresso English. If you liked this video, please share it.