thick around the middle
1
5.5
- idiom
:
con sobrepeso
- Theseus is nude and quite thick around the middle.
- a little thick around the middle
Examples
-
She noticed that her favorite jeans became tighter because she had gotten a little thick around the middle recently.
-
As she got older, Mrs. Kovaks's looks started to go, and she got thick around the middle.
Fiction book (1990) -
He's gotten a little thick around the middle.
-
She is short, thick around the middle, with little feet crammed into strappy shoes that look strained.
Fiction book (2000) -
As he aged, he became noticeably thick around the middle, indicating he had gained some weight.
-
After the holidays, many people find themselves feeling a bit thick around the middle due to indulging in festive foods.
Synonyms
88
1.0
Having a solid wide body or wide arms and legs
9
5.6
Having a rounded shape that sticks out from the middle of the body
4
3.7
A person or animal with a round belly that sticks out
3
7.4
A person with a large belly that sticks out around the middle
1
3.5
Having a large round belly
Antonyms
How Overweight
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'having extra fat around the waist' is directly and compositionally derived from 'thick' (broad/stocky) combined with the locative phrase 'around the middle' indicating the waist area. This straightforward spatial/body-description pattern is common and likely understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
The phrase thick around the middle comes from a simple picture: when someone's middle, that is the waist, is wider they look thick there. So the expression is used to say a person has extra fat 'around the waist' or is 'a little overweight'.