a bottomless pit
Meaning: Something that uses up endless money or effort; also a person who is always hungry.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The old house became a bottomless pit of repairs.”
Category: The Absurd
Origin: The King James Bible uses "bottomless pit" for the abyss of hell in the Book of Revelation. The figurative use for something that swallows resources came later.
Equivalents in other languages
- Polish: studnia bez dna — literally: a well without a bottom
- French: Le tonneau des Danaïdes — literally: The barrel of the Danaids
More idioms — The Absurd
- blow a gasket — To lose one's temper completely.
- Ariadne's thread — Something that guides one through a complicated problem.
- hey presto — Said when something happens suddenly, as if by magic.
- the eighth wonder of the world — Something extraordinary, often said ironically.
- scream blue murder — To protest very loudly.
- a Procrustean bed — A rigid standard forced on everything, whatever the damage.
More English idioms
- in the middle of nowhere — In a very remote place, far from towns.
- out of thin air — Appearing from nowhere, as if by magic.
- be at a low ebb — To be in a poor or weak state.
- sit on the fence — To avoid taking sides.
- take an ax to — To cut something drastically, especially spending or jobs.
- the four corners of the earth — Every part of the world.
From our tongue twisters
- Pad kid poured curd pulled cod. — Alternating repetition — the consonants swap at the start of every other word, which is w…
- Red lorry, yellow lorry. — The 'l/r' alternation drill — deceptively short, yet almost impossible to say fast withou…
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? — A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.