built like a brick outhouse
- idiom
- Informal
:
fuerte como un roble
- My brother is built like a brick outhouse after years of weightlifting.
Examples
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He is built like a brick outhouse!
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She’s built like a brick outhouse and dominates every competition she enters.
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Everyone said the new security guard was built like a brick outhouse.
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That football player is built like a brick outhouse.
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He may be short, but he's built like a brick outhouse and can lift heavy weights.
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The new football player is built like a brick outhouse, which makes him perfect for defense.
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She might look small, but she's built like a brick outhouse and can hold her own in any match.
Synonyms
12
3.0
Showing strong, forceful energy in action or style
1
9.9
A person with a very strong, solid body and large muscles
A person who has very large muscles and a strong body
A person or animal who is much stronger than others
Very strong and solid, like a person with big muscles or a very hard box
Antonyms
How Strong
- Informal
- Informal
49
2.8
91
1.0
108
2.5
42
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
built + like + a + brick + outhouse
The simile structure 'built like' plus the constituents 'brick' and 'outhouse' evoke a small, very solid/sturdy structure, so a learner who knows the words can infer a sense of solidity. However, mapping that solidity to 'very strong and muscular' is a metaphorical, culturally colored comparison ("outhouse" imagery is regionally specific), so the exact nuance of muscularity is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
The saying built like a brick outhouse may come from a simple picture: an outhouse is a small outdoor toilet, and if it is made of brick it is very solid and hard to move. So calling someone built like a brick outhouse means they are 'very strong and muscular'—solid and hard to push over.