Lombard Street to a China orange
- idiom
- Archaic
:
un lío
- Trying to untangle the company's finances was Lombard Street to a China orange for the auditors.
Examples
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The plot of this novel is Lombard Street to a China orange, with many unexpected twists.
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This project is turning into a real Lombard Street to a China orange!
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For a newcomer, the rules of cricket can seem Lombard Street to a China orange.
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Why does everything about this plan feel like Lombard Street to a China orange?
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For a newcomer, the rules of cricket can seem Lombard Street to a China orange.
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The plot of this novel is Lombard Street to a China orange, with many unexpected twists.
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Trying to untangle the company's finances was Lombard Street to a China orange for the auditors.
Synonyms
A confusing group of narrow winding streets that twist and turn
A busy, confusing city life that feels chaotic and overwhelming
Antonyms
How Confusing
Surface Forms
Morphology
Lombard + Street + to + a + china + orange
The phrase relies on specific cultural/place imagery (proper noun 'Lombard Street' and the unusual compound 'China orange') rather than a predictable combination of constituent meanings, so a learner who knows the individual words would not infer 'complex or confusing'. The expression is idiomatic and culturally bound, making its meaning unpredictable cross-linguistically and opaque to a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Lombard Street to a China orange may come from comparing the twisty old Lombard Street in London with a small, decorated China orange, a tiny object made of china. So the image of many twists and tiny, fussy detail is why the phrase means 'difficult to understand'.