simple as a pimple
- idiom
- Informal
- Solving that math problem was simple as a pimple for her.
Examples
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Don't worry about installing the software—it's simple as a pimple.
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Learning to ride a bike is simple as a pimple.
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He said rebuilding the bike would be simple as a pimple, and he was right.
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This task is simple as a pimple!
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Using this app is simple as a pimple; even a child can do it.
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The instructions were simple as a pimple, making it easy to follow along.
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Cooking this recipe is simple as a pimple, requiring just a few ingredients.
Synonyms
Not hard to do, understand, or achieve
Easy to understand or do
Something that is easy to understand and clear
Simple and clear so most people can know what it means quickly
Done easily and smoothly without hard work
Easy to understand or deal with
Very clear and easy to decide or solve
Easy to understand or do
Very easy to do
Simple to understand and do
Very easy to do with little skill
Very easy to do or understand
Simple and plain with no extra things or decorations
Antonyms
How Easy
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although the construction uses the comparative pattern 'as ... as', the noun 'pimple' has no semantic relation to ease, so the meaning 'extremely easy' cannot be derived from the literal constituents. This is a playful, rhyming simile whose sense depends on idiomatic usage and familiarity rather than compositional semantics, so a B1 learner who only knows the component words is unlikely to infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The saying simple as a pimple may come from a playful rhyme that compares a small skin bump, the pimple, to something tiny and easy to deal with. That's why people use the phrase to mean 'very easy'.