dumb as a post

[Miamia111]

Hello- Yes, "dump as a post" is used where I live, and it is not very nice! It is an expression that means that a person is not very smart. A "post", in this expression, refers to a fence post- used to keep live stock in, usually made of wood- having NO brain. If someone is as dumb as a post- they are as dumb as possible. I hope that helps! Mia

[probus]

I suspect that originally this expression meant dumb in the sense of mute rather than stupid. In starting the thread I was thinking about whether it retained any trace of that meaning. The consensus seems to be clear: it does not.

[birdeen's call]

I've heard some people use "dumb as a pole".



...oh, wait a minute...

[freezeframe]

"your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick"

a little band called "Jethro Tull"

[JMurray]

"Deaf as a post" and "thick as a brick" were the most familiar of these terms in my childhood. But I remember hearing "thick as railway cup", referring to the chunky crockery that, in bygone days, was associated with refreshment stops at small-town stations along NZ's main trunk line. I believe the equally obsolete UK equivalent may be "thick as a NAAFI cup", which I once heard said in a Brit sitcom, or maybe a "Carry On" film. A vague citation, I admit.