naked as a jaybird
Bare, unclothed, as in I came straight out of the shower, naked as a jaybird. This simile replaced the 19th-century naked as a robin and is equally unclear, since neither bird is normally stripped of its feathers. Further, the bird it refers to is more often called simply “jay” rather than “jaybird,” yet the latter is always part of the simile. [c. 1940]
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What Is An “Interrupter”?What’s an interrupter? Interrupters—like this little guy right here—are squeezing into more and more contemporary writing. They’re often the goofy/sarcastic “wink-wink-nudge-nudge” asides writers play with in nonacademic writing and online content. Also called insertions, interrupting phrases, or parenthetical expressions, interrupters are words, phrases, or clauses that break the flow of writing—because if the author feels like it, why not?—to offer additional, can’t-be-held-back, or spur-of-the-moment thoughts …
Nearby words
nakasone, nakasone, yasuhiro, nake, naked, naked and the dead, the, naked as a jaybird, naked eye, naked lady, naked lunch, the, naked mole rat, naked singularity
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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