slippery as an eel

Idioms  

1. Elusive, devious, as in When it comes to talking about his investments, Jim's slippery as an eel. This simile, first recorded about 1412, alludes to the eel's skin, which has tiny scales and is quite slippery when wet.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slippery as an eel

Memory may seem to be a guarantor of memoir's authenticity, but when pressed into service for a more general kind of food history, it can be become as slippery as an eel.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 18, 2010

The Dashew 83 is as slippery as an eel below the waterline.

From Time Magazine Archive

Willitts wasn't much taller than I and he was a thin little shrimp, but believe me, he was as tough as leather and as slippery as an eel.

From Miss Maitland Private Secretary by Bonner, Geraldine

He's as slippery as an eel, he is.

From North and South by Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn

"He's as slippery as an eel," said big Tom.

From The Mark of the Knife by Ernst, Clayton H.