cute

(as) cute as a bug's ear

Adorable; very cute. Your puppy is just as cute as a bug's ear! Look at his big eyes! Why, your daughter looks as cute as a bug's ear! All these kittens are cute as a bug's ears—how am I supposed to choose just one to adopt?

See also: cute, ear

(as) cute as a button

Pleasing in appearance or temperament. Most often said of children. Your little girl is as cute as a button in that frilly dress. Katie has such a sweet and charming disposition—she's as cute as a button. Did you see those kids singing Christmas carols? They are cute as a button, every last one of them.

See also: button, cute

(as) cute as a speckled pup

Very attractive in a youthful or dainty way; adorable. The girls Alex dates are always cute as a speckled pup, but don't have much going on between their ears. Why, your daughter looks as cute as a speckled pup in that dress! Why don't you like Marie? She's just cute as a speckled pup, if you ask me.

See also: cute, pup, speckled

all kinds of (something)

slang Extremely; very. Oh, their family is all kinds of dysfunctional! That movie was all kinds of awesome! I can't wait to see it again. No, I don't want to buy this spooky old house—it's all kinds of rundown!

See also: all, kind, of

be (as) cute as a speckled pup

To be very visually attractive in a youthful or dainty way; to be adorable. The girls Alex dates are always cute as a speckled pup, but don't have much going on between their ears. Have you seen Susan's daughter? Why, she's just cute as a speckled pup. Why don't you like Marie? She's just cute as a speckled pup, if you ask me.

See also: cute, pup, speckled

be all kinds of (something)

slang To have or exhibit an extreme degree of some quality or characteristic. Don't be surprised if a shouting match starts in the middle of dinner. Their family is all kinds of dysfunctional! That movie was all kinds of awesome! I can't wait to see it again. No, I don't want to buy this spooky old house—it's all kinds of rundown!

See also: all, kind, of

be as cute as a button

To be pleasing in appearance or temperament. Most often said of children. Your little girl is as cute as a button in that frilly dress. Katie is pretty and has such a sweet disposition—she's as cute as a button. Did you see those kids singing Christmas carols? They are cute as a button, every last one of them.

See also: button, cute

cute hoor

Someone who is wily and shrewd. Primarily heard in Ireland. Phil is a real cute hoor—he always manages to outfox everyone else, even when you least expect it. Great, new data shows that our company was worth so much more than we accepted for it. That guy we sold it to was a cute hoor all right. Of course the cute hoors got their money out of that bank at the first signs of trouble. Fools like me lost everything.

See also: cute

cuter than a June bug

Adorable; extremely cute. My little niece was cuter than a June bug in her costume. The girls Alex dates are always cuter than a June bug, but don't have much going on between their ears. Why, your daughter looks as cuter than a June bug in that dress!

See also: bug, cute, June

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

*cute as a bug's ear

very cute. (*Also: as ~.) That little baby is cute as a bug's ear.

See also: cute, ear

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

cute as a button

Also, cute as a bug's ear. Pretty or attractive in a dainty way, as in That baby is cute as a button. Cute originally was a shortening of acute, for "sharp-witted and clever," but in the early 1800s it also took on its current meaning. Other than that buttons and bug's hearing organs can be small, there is no good explanation for these similes.

See also: button, cute

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.

(as) cute as a ˈbutton

(American English) (usually used about a baby or a child, or somebody/something small) very attractive and charming: Kate is four, and as cute as a button!

See also: button, cute

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

cute as a button

Daintily attractive. The word “cute” dates from the seventeenth century. It was originally an abbreviation of acute and had the same meaning: clever, shrewd, ingenious. In America, however, it came to be applied to attractive persons or things, those with an appearance of dainty charm rather than outright beauty. A button is small and round; so are some cute objects. For some reason this simile took hold in the early twentieth century. The synonym cute as a bug’s ear similarly alludes to something very small—and in fact nonexistent (bugs don’t have ears).

See also: button, cute

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer