you could cut it with a knife

Idioms  

1. Alluding to something very thick, such as muggy air or a heavy accent; also, a very tense atmosphere. For example, The smoke was so thick you could cut it with a knife, or When I walked in they all stopped talking and you could cut the air with a knife. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

It’s a place that speaks of the good life, where the nostalgia is so thick you could cut it with a knife and butter your Wonder Bread with it.

From Los Angeles Times

And the funny thing was, in the scene there’s this underlying aggression between these two characters that is so — you could cut it with a knife.

From Los Angeles Times

We’re at the Chutzpah Deli in Fairfax Towne Center and the chutzpah is so thick you could cut it with a knife then smear it on a bagel.

From Washington Post

At one point during her tenure, she said that arrogance in city government was so thick “you could cut it with a knife.”

From Los Angeles Times

The blooming flower had a “rotting corpse smell that was so thick and heavy you could cut it with a knife,” said John Connors, horticulture manager for the San Diego Botanic Garden.

From Washington Post