Idiom
stink on ice
Meaning
To be of very poor quality, even repulsive.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“That new movie really stinks on ice.”
“My old car stinks on ice during the winter.”
“Your plan to fix the roof stinks on ice.”
“I tried the new restaurant downtown, but the food was terrible and the service stank on ice.”
“The band's performance stank on ice because the lead singer forgot the lyrics and the drummer could not keep a steady beat.”
“I thought the new software would help my business, but the interface stinks on ice and constantly crashes my computer.”
“The athlete's attitude stinks on ice because he refuses to practice with his teammates and blames everyone else whenever the team loses a game.”
“The manager realized the entire marketing campaign stank on ice, so he scrapped the project before it caused further damage to the company's reputation.”
Examples
simple
“That new movie really stinks on ice.”
“My old car stinks on ice during the winter.”
“Your plan to fix the roof stinks on ice.”
contextual
“I tried the new restaurant downtown, but the food was terrible and the service stank on ice.”
“The band's performance stank on ice because the lead singer forgot the lyrics and the drummer could not keep a steady beat.”
“I thought the new software would help my business, but the interface stinks on ice and constantly crashes my computer.”
“The athlete's attitude stinks on ice because he refuses to practice with his teammates and blames everyone else whenever the team loses a game.”
complex
“The manager realized the entire marketing campaign stank on ice, so he scrapped the project before it caused further damage to the company's reputation.”
Origin
The phrase emerges from the observation that if organic matter continues to emit a foul odour even when preserved on ice, it must be thoroughly putrid. While ice is expected to arrest the process of decay and suppress the scent of decomposition, a substance that overcomes this thermal barrier is considered exceptionally rotten.
Key words
Related idioms
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