(as) tight as a tick
1. Extremely drunk. The old man, tight as a tick, stumbled into the building claiming to be a prophet from the future. Sorry about last night, my dad was as tight as a tick by the end of dinner. I guess I got tight as a tick last night because I don't remember much of what happened.
2. Extremely close together; at or near an equal level; neck and neck. Usually said of competitors in a race or competition. The two athletes have been tight as a tick for this entire race. The election is as tight as a tick so far. We're going to have to wait until the very last votes are tallied before we know a definitive winner. I hear that their researchers are tight as a tick with us. We have to be the ones to find the cure first!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*tight as a tick
1. very tight. (Fig. on the image of a tick swollen tight with blood or of a tick stuck tightly in someone's skin. *Also: as ~.) This lid is screwed on tight as a tick. The windows were closed—tight as a tick—to keep the cold out.
2. intoxicated. (Fig. on full as a tick. *Also: as ~.) The old man was tight as a tick but still lucid. The host got tight as a tick and fell in the pool.
3. [of a race] close, as if the racers are moving very closely together. (*Also: as ~.) This election is as tight as a tick.
4. very friendly and close; as thick as thieves. (*Also: as ~.) Those two are tight as a tick. They are always together.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
tight as a tick
Drunk, as in She was tight as a tick after just one glass of wine. This expression alludes to a tick engorged with the blood of the animals it feeds on. [Slang; mid-1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tight as a tick
extremely drunk. informal The simile as full as a tick occurs in a late 17th-century proverb collection, referring to the way in which the blood-sucking insects swell as they gorge themselves. In the modern expression, there is a play on tight as an informal synonym for ‘drunk’ and its literal meaning ‘stretched taut’, like a tick satiated with blood.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
(as) tight as a tick
1. mod. very tight. The windows were closed—tight as a tick—to keep the cold out.
2. mod. alcohol intoxicated. (An elaboration of tight.) The host got tight as a tick and fell in the pool.
tight as a tick
verbMcGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
tight as a tick
Intoxicated. Presumably the analogy here is to a tick engorged with blood (since ticks feed on warm-blooded animals). Tight has long been a colloquial term for “drunk,” and “tight as a tick,” an Americanism enhanced by alliteration, dates from the mid-nineteenth century. Anthony Price combined two synonymous clichés in Soldier No More (1981): “He was drunk as a lord . . . tight as a tick.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer