it doesn't take a rocket scientist
Meaning: Something is easy to understand; no special intelligence is needed.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why the plant died: nobody watered it.”
Category: The Absurd
Origin: Rocket science became a byword for difficult work during the space race. The phrase is recorded from the 1980s, and "it's not rocket science" is a close relative.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Ne pas être grand clerc — literally: Not to be a great clerk
- French: Pas besoin de sortir de Saint-Cyr — literally: No need to have graduated from Saint-Cyr
More idioms — The Absurd
- a bottomless pit — Something that uses up endless money or effort; also a person who is always hungry.
- 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.
More English idioms
- do a moonlight flit — To leave one's home secretly at night, usually to avoid paying rent or debts.
- pipped at the post — To be beaten at the very last moment.
- twiddle one's thumbs — To do nothing while waiting or out of boredom.
- a nest of vipers — A group of people who scheme against or betray each other.
- once bitten, twice shy — After a bad experience, one is much more cautious.
- I could eat a horse — I am extremely hungry.