a den of thieves
Meaning: A place full of dishonest people.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The old port quarter was a den of thieves after dark.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From the Gospels, where Jesus drives the money changers out of the Temple, saying they have made it "a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13, King James Version).
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Une cour des miracles — literally: A court of miracles
More idioms — Daily Life
- in the arms of Morpheus — Asleep.
- take someone at their word — To believe someone, or to act on exactly what they said.
- money makes the world go round — Money is what drives everything.
- cut the Gordian knot — To solve a complicated problem with a bold, simple action.
- pick a fight — To deliberately start an argument or fight.
- in someone's good books — In favor with someone.
More English idioms
- talk the hind legs off a donkey — To talk endlessly.
- an eye for an eye — Punishment should match the injury; revenge in kind.
- scream blue murder — To protest very loudly.
- send someone packing — To dismiss someone abruptly.
- money burns a hole in someone's pocket — Someone cannot keep money without spending it.
- jump through hoops — To go through many difficult or pointless steps to get something.
From our compliments & insults
- Che rompiscatole — What an insufferable pest — someone who endlessly pesters and never lets you be.
- Testa quadrata — A rigid, inflexible blockhead who refuses to see beyond their fixed ideas.
- È un mammone — An overgrown man who can't make a decision without his mother — the Italian archetype of…