dull as dishwater


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(as) dull as dishwater

Very boring or unexciting. This phrase is often used to describe a person. My date with Dave was not great—he is as dull as dishwater. I fell asleep during that movie because it was as dull as dishwater.
See also: dishwater, dull

*dull as dishwater

 and *dull as ditch water
very uninteresting. (*Also: as ~.) I'm not surprised that he can't find a partner. He's as dull as dishwater. Mr. Black's speech was as dull as dishwater.
See also: dishwater, dull

dull as dishwater

Boring, tedious, as in That lecture was dull as dishwater. The original simile, dull as ditchwater, dating from the 1700s, alluded to the muddy water in roadside ditches. In the first half of the 1900s, perhaps through mispronunciation, it became dishwater, that is, the dingy, grayish water in which dirty dishes had soaked.
See also: dishwater, dull

dull as dishwater (or ditchwater)

extremely dull.
See also: dishwater, dull

dull as dishwater

verb
See as dull as dishwater
See also: dishwater, dull
References in periodicals archive ?
PRIME Minister Brown is dour, dreary and as dull as dishwater.
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It's as dull as dishwater and is not even worthy of background music status.
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