tight as a tick
Very firmly attached
Tight as a tick means extremely drunk—so full of alcohol you're swollen with it, like a tick engorged on blood.
The phrase is American and somewhat old-fashioned: Uncle Ray got tight as a tick at the wedding reception.
Tight alone has meant drunk since the early 1800s; the tick comparison intensifies it with rural color.
- drunkImpaired by alcohol
- inebriatedIntoxicated by alcohol
- plasteredExtremely intoxicated
- stonedDrug-intoxicated state
- smashedBroken or intoxicated
soused · blotto · under the table · feeling no pain · pickled · miserly · sloshed · bladdered · full · bursting at the seams · blind · frugal · legless · hammered · cheap · snug · swollen · latched
tight as a ticksober
Free from intoxication
sober as a judge · teetotal · dry · straight · abstinent
tight as a tickloose
Not firmly secured
slack · loose as a goose · relaxed · limp · unfastened
tight, tick, airtight, tightness, watertight, tightly, tightened, tightens, tightening