ENGLISH
REFERENCE

asphalt jungle

idiom
Meaning

A city or urban area, where the landscape is covered by pavement and the environment is alienating and unsafe.


Origin

first recorded 20th c.

From W. R. Burnett's novel The Asphalt Jungle (1949).

Examples
SIMPLE

Life in the asphalt jungle is often loud and stressful.

CONTEXTUAL

After moving from the quiet countryside, he found it difficult to adjust to the noise and crowds of the asphalt jungle.

COMPLEX

The weary traveler navigated the cold, gray streets of the asphalt jungle, feeling entirely disconnected from the natural world he once called home.

Anchors to
Related idioms3entries
  1. 01

    concrete jungle

    An urban or other populated area containing a high density of buildings constructed of concrete or similar materials, especially one which lacks greenery and which seems unattractive, harsh, or unsafe.

  2. 02

    jungle telegraph

    A system used by primitive cultures in remote tropical regions for communication over long distances, such as drum sounds or a relay of runners.

  3. 03

    King of the Jungle

    The lion; Panthera leo.

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