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you could cut it with a knife

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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Nearby words

  1. you can't teach an old dog new tricks,
  2. you can't unscramble an egg,
  3. you can't win,
  4. you can't win 'em all,
  5. you cannot serve god and mammon,
  6. you don't say,
  7. you get what you pay for,
  8. you just don't get it,
  9. you know,
  10. you know something?
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.