(one) is not as green as (one) is cabbage-looking

One is smarter or less naïve than one seems. A: "Hey, that dopey intern did a great job on this report." B: "Wow. I guess he's not as green as he is cabbage-looking." Good job not falling for that trick. You're not as green as you are cabbage-looking. Today is April Fool's Day—time for you freshmen to prove that you're not as green as you are cabbage-looking.

cabbage

Money. Oh please, I don't have the cabbage to buy a fancy car like that! I wasn't looking for a new job, but I couldn't say no to one that offered me such serious cabbage. I don't have enough cabbage for that right now—can I pay you back tomorrow?

cabbage onto (someone or something)

1. Literally, to grab and hold onto someone with one's hands. The police officer cabbaged onto the suspect before he could run away. My sister cabbaged onto me at our mother's funeral to keep herself from breaking down in tears. Luckily, I saw that the gate was open just in time to cabbage onto the dog and keep him in the yard.

2. To steal or pilfer something. Hey, I know you're cabbaging onto my fries every time you come into the kitchen—quit it! My dumb sister is always cabbaging onto my clothes. They vanish from my closet before I've even had a chance to wear them! Aw man, somebody cabbaged onto my notes, so I couldn't study at lunch.

cabbagehead

A stupid person. Did you hear that guy's ridiculous question? Geez, what a cabbagehead. Tony's such a cabbagehead—I can't believe they put him in charge. He's going to run this place into the ground. Geez, he keeps pulling on a door that's clearly marked "push"—what a cabbagehead.

fall off the cabbage truck

To be gullible, naïve, or unsophisticated. The subject is often a person from a rural or rustic background. Mary has no idea about how to act in polite society, always behaving as if she just fell off the cabbage truck. I may have grown up in a small town, but I didn't just fall off the cabbage truck—I actually went to college in New York City. A: "OK, just be sure not to make lewd remarks like that during the dinner party." B: "Hey, I know how to act around decent folk! I didn't just fall off the cabbage truck, you know."

how the cow ate the cabbage

1. The unadulterated truth about something; the way something really is. Said especially of a truth that someone does not want to hear or acknowledge. Usually used after "tell." Primarily heard in US. The boss keeps thinking the company's going to somehow break even without making a lot of layoffs and cutbacks. Someone's just got to tell him how the cow ate the cabbage. A: "I want my parents to start taking better care of themselves, but I don't want to hurt their feelings." B: "Look, if it means giving them a few more years of life, then don't be afraid to tell your parents how the cow ate the cabbage." Even though I don't see this relationship working out in the long run, I'm not eager to tell my boyfriend how the cow ate the cabbage.

2. A lesson about the proper way in which things should be done, especially when demonstrated through discipline or retribution. A less common usage, it is usually used after "show." Primarily heard in US. We're going to send our troops in there and show those rebel scum how the cow ate the cabbage. We need some red-blooded politicians to get into Washington and show them lily-livered bureaucrats how the cow ate the cabbage. You need to show these entitled interns how the cow ate the cabbage because this level of work is unacceptable.

I don't boil my cabbage twice

I don't repeat myself. A: "Sorry, can you repeat that?" B: "I don't boil my cabbage twice, so you better start listening closely." I don't boil my cabbage twice, Grandpa. Put your hearing aids in! Class, you better pay attention during my lectures because I do not boil my cabbage twice.

I don't chew my cabbage twice

I don't repeat myself. A: "Sorry, can you repeat that?" B: "I don't chew my cabbage twice, so you better start listening closely." I don't chew my cabbage twice, Grandpa. Put your hearing aids in! Class, you better pay attention during my lectures because I do not chew my cabbage twice

I'm not as green as I am cabbage-looking

I am smarter or less naïve than I seem. A: "Hey, you did a great job on this report, especially for an intern." B: "I'm not as green as I'm cabbage-looking, you know." Of course I didn't fall for that trick—I'm not as green as I'm cabbage-looking. Duh, it's April Fool's Day. The seniors need to realize that I'm not as green as I am cabbage-looking.

cabbage

n. money. (see also green, spinach.) How much cabbage you want for this heater?

cabbagehead

n. a fool; a stupid person. What cabbagehead put this thing on upside down?

fall off the cabbage truck

To be a nai¨ve newcomer. Imagine a flatbed farm wagon laden with fresh produce arriving in a city. Sliding off the back was a country bumpkin whose brain, or so smug sophisticated urbanites would agree, contained no more clue about worldly ways than a head of cabbage that might roll off the vehicle. A similar expression was to say that someone “just got off the boat,” a reference to immigration in the days of steamship passage when new arrivals were thoroughly ignorant of New World customs. Among the snappy denials to being called a hick or greenhorn were “I wasn't born yesterday” or “I might have been born at night, but not last night” or the wonderfully imaginative Midwestern comeback, “Hey, what makes you think I just got off the noon balloon from Rangoon?”