as clumsy as the Three Stooges
- idiom
- Informal
:
tan torpe como los Tres Chiflados
- After tripping over the dog and knocking over a chair, she laughed and admitted she was as clumsy as the Three Stooges.
Examples
-
He dropped every dish—he was as clumsy as the Three Stooges at the party.
-
Whenever I try to dance, I feel as clumsy as the Three Stooges.
-
He is as clumsy as the Three Stooges when he tries to dance.
-
Don't be as clumsy as the Three Stooges during the presentation!
-
After tripping over the dog and knocking over a chair, she laughed and admitted she was as clumsy as the Three Stooges.
-
He dropped every dish—he was as clumsy as the Three Stooges at the party.
-
Whenever I try to dance, I feel as clumsy as the Three Stooges.
Synonyms
73
1.2
Moving in an awkward, unsteady way that causes accidents
33
3.0
Not graceful in movement or action
7
7.3
Acting awkward and clumsy in movement or when handling things
4
7.3
Moving or looking awkward and clumsy
1
7.9
Funny in a silly physical way like clumsy falls and loud actions
1
8.9
Silly and awkward in a clumsy, funny way
Antonyms
How Clumsy
Surface Forms
Morphology
as + clumsy + as + the + three + stooge
The simile structure 'as ... as' combined with 'clumsy' transparently signals a comparison indicating strong clumsiness, so part of the meaning is derivable from the constituents. However, the specific image relies on the cultural reference 'the Three Stooges' (a slapstick comedy trio), which a B1 learner who only knows the literal words may not recognize, making the expression only partially predictable.
Etymology
As clumsy as the Three Stooges comes from a famous comedy trio who used loud, physical jokes and often slipped, fell and bumped into things on purpose. So saying someone is as clumsy as the Three Stooges compares them to that funny image and means they are 'very clumsy' and likely to drop or break things.