you could cut it with a knife

Save This Word!

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]

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Words nearby you could cut it with a knife

You can't take it with you, You can't teach an old dog new tricks, You can't unscramble an egg, you can't win, you can't win 'em all, you could cut it with a knife, you'd, you'd better believe it, you don't say, you get what you pay for, Youghiogheny

How to use you could cut it with a knife in a sentence

ROME — What does it take for a Hollywood A-lister to get a private audience with Pope Francis?
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In this cockamamie get-rich scheme, would they all issue an apology if he cut a check?
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I took out my knife, my Ka-Bar, and knocked his teeth out, but they fell into his throat.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

My understanding was that according to most Christian beliefs, being trans or gay was a sin, cut and dry.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If the "Y" Beach lot press their advantage they may cut off the enemy troops on the toe of the Peninsula.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Now-a-days it is the bankrupt who flouts, and his too confiding creditors who are jeered and laughed at.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
He felt himself the meanest, vilest thing a-crawl upon this sinful earth, and she—dear God!
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
All that scientific bric-a-brac in the cupboard had far better be thrown away.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
At the reserve bank they may borrow as a standing right and not as a favor which may be cut off.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips