queer fish
Peculiar sort, him
A queer fish is an odd or eccentric person—someone whose behavior or manner strikes others as strange or hard to figure out.
The expression is old-fashioned and mainly British: He's a queer fish, that uncle of yours—never says a word at dinner, then stays up all night reading.
The queer here means peculiar, not homosexual.
Eccentric individual
- misfitOne who doesn't fit in
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- bohemianArtistic nonconformist type
crank · character · original · weirdo · kook · crackpot · freak · card
Something hard to fathom
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
- unknown quantityUndetermined value or factor
closed book · dark horse · wild card · sphinx · conundrum · inscrutable · unfathomable · cryptic
One excluded from group
- outcastShunned, rejected person
- pariahRejected, shunned person
- lonerOne who avoids company
- recluseOne choosing isolation
hermit · introvert · wallflower · odd man out · fifth wheel · lone ranger · solitary · misanthrope
oddball
Eccentric individual
- misfitOne who doesn't fit in
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
bohemian · crank · character · original · weirdo · kook · crackpot · freak · card · case
enigma
Something hard to fathom
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
unknown quantity · closed book · dark horse · wild card · sphinx · conundrum · inscrutable · unfathomable · cryptic · elusive
outsider
One excluded from group
recluse · hermit · introvert · wallflower · odd man out · fifth wheel · lone ranger · solitary · misanthrope · alienated
queer fishconformist
One following accepted norms
regular guy · organization man · company man · team player · straight arrow
queer fisheveryman
Ordinary representative person
common man · standard issue · regular Joe · common or garden variety · dime a dozen
queer, fish, queerer, queerest, queerly, queerness, fishes, fished, fishing