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as useful as a bag of dicks

as useful as a bag of dicks

9.9
Completely without help for any task
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : [Vulgar: término ofensivo para 'completamente inútil']
  • The instructions were as useful as a bag of dicks, leaving everyone confused.

Examples

  • Why did you buy that gadget? It's as useful as a bag of dicks.

  • His advice turned out to be as useful as a bag of dicks during the meeting.

  • After trying the new app, I found it was as useful as a bag of dicks for tracking expenses.

  • That tool is as useful as a bag of dicks!

  • The new software update is as useful as a bag of dicks; it didn't fix any of the bugs.

  • I thought the tutorial would help, but it was as useful as a bag of dicks for learning the topic.

  • Trying to assemble that furniture without instructions was as useful as a bag of dicks.

Synonyms

useless
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
550 1.0

Not able to do the job it is made for

uses crude vulgar language to express that same lack of use
worthless
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
298 3.0

Has no value or use

uses crude vulgar language while meaning the same lack of value
pointless
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
157 3.5

Not doing anything useful

uses crude vulgar language to emphasize that purposelessness strongly
no-good
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
  • Informal
88 5.6

Bad or worthless and often causing trouble

expresses the same judgment but with strong crude vulgarity
futile
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
84 6.0

Not likely to work or help

uses crude vulgar language to stress the same futility more harshly
good-for-nothing
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
  • Offensive
2 6.8

Not useful or worth much

uses crude vulgar language to insult or dismiss in the same way
as useless as tits on a boar hog
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Something that has no real purpose or value

uses cruder vulgar insult to make the same point about uselessness
as useful as a hole in the head
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
  • Informal
9.8

Not helpful and not wanted in any situation

uses crude vulgar language to say the same utter uselessness
as useful as a chocolate teapot
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
  • UK
9.9

Completely useless in real situations

uses crude vulgar language to express identical complete uselessness
as useful as a screen door on a submarine
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
  • Informal
9.9

Having no real use

uses crude vulgar language to state the same total uselessness
good-for-naught
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
  • Offensive
9.9

Not useful and having little value

uses crude vulgar language to state that lack of value more sharply
unfunctional
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
8.2

Not useful for everyday tasks

uses crude vulgar language to convey the same impracticality harshly
unuseful
vsas useful as a bag of dicks
5.2

Not able to do what is needed

uses crude vulgar language to express that simple lack of usefulness

Antonyms

947 1.0

Helps you do practical tasks or solve a problem

526 2.5

Very useful and important, for example advice or skills

How Useful

valuable
526 2.5
useful
947 1.0
helpful
689 1.0
unhelpful
17 3.0
ineffective
90 3.4
useless
550 1.0
as useful as a bag of dicks
  • Offensive
9.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

as + useful + as + a + bag + of + dick

Although the structure 'as useful as a X' is transparent, the specific image 'a bag of dicks' is slangy, vulgar and culturally specific, so its intended meaning 'extremely useless' is not predictably derived from the literal constituents. A B1 learner who knows the words would likely be confused or miss the insulting, idiomatic force rather than infer the intended evaluative meaning.

Etymology

As useful as a bag of dicks is a rude saying that creates a shocking, silly image — a bag full of dicks, which would be clearly useless for any normal task. Because the picture is so absurd and pointless, people use it to call something completely 'useless'.