
IdiomDaily Life
English
a nasty piece of work
Meaning: An unpleasant, cruel or dishonest person.
Example: “Be careful with that landlord; he's a nasty piece of work.”
Origin: Calling a person a badly made object. The British phrase is common from the mid-20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
French: Une peau de vache Literally: A cow's hide
More English idioms
- holy cow! An exclamation of surprise.
- clear as day Completely obvious.
- have had it up to here To be completely fed up.
- be off one's game To perform worse than usual.
- be miles away To be lost in thought and not paying attention.
- sly as a fox Very cunning.
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