dumb as a post

Status
Not open for further replies.

probus

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
Is it heard where you live? What does it mean?
 

billmcd

Key Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Is it heard where you live? What does it mean?

It means as much brain-power/intelligence as an inanimate object. But you would seldom, if ever, hear/read it in modern/current conversation/literature (AmE).
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
I know only 'as deaf as a post'.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
BrE has as thick as two short planks; also as thick as pigsh*t.
 

probus

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
It means as much brain-power/intelligence as an inanimate object. But you would seldom, if ever, hear/read it in modern/current conversation/literature (AmE).

Thanks for that. Comments from people who do not hear the idiom where they live are just as interesting as definitions from those who do, because I believe that many idioms are highly regional.

I live in Toronto. Where do you live?

By the way, I suspect that this idiom initially referred to deafness/dumbness, but with the evolution of meaning in the word dumb from speechless to stupid the meaning of the idiom also changed in an identical way.
 
Last edited:

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Thanks for that. Comments from people who do not hear the idiom where they live are just as interesting as definitions from those who do, because I believe that many idioms are highly regional.
If they are restricted to one region, then I don't think there is a lot of point in introducing them in this forum. Learners have enough to think about without worrying about rare expressions. Of course, if somebody comes across such an idiom and asks what it means, then we should provide an answer if we can, but we should warn that it is not generally used/understood.
 

Vidor

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
not a teacher

I like "dumb as a sack of hammers."

And "dumb as a post" is a common phrase in American English so far as I know.
 

probus

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
If they are restricted to one region, then I don't think there is a lot of point in introducing them in this forum. Learners have enough to think about without worrying about rare expressions. Of course, if somebody comes across such an idiom and asks what it means, then we should provide an answer if we can, but we should warn that it is not generally used/understood.

But how can we native speakers know whether an idiom is regional unless we discuss it among ourselves?

Having lived on both sides of the pond, I am aware of the regional nature of some idioms. But there are others that I hear, and I'm uncertain about how common they are in various places.
 

Miamia111

New member
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
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

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
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

VIP Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
I've heard some people use "dumb as a pole".



...oh, wait a minute... :oops:
 

freezeframe

Key Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
"your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick"

a little band called "Jethro Tull"
 

JMurray

Key Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
New Zealand
Current Location
Australia
"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.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top