British & Australian, American

something that you say when you are about to stop telling someone all the details of something that happened and tell them only the main facts.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we left at midnight and James left somewhat later.

• be as mad as a March hare
• be as nice as pie
• be as nutty as a fruitcake
• be as old as Methuselah
• be as old as the hills
• be as plain as day
• be as plain as the nose on your face
• be as pleased as Punch
• be as poor as church mice
• be as pure as the driven snow
• be as quiet as a mouse
• be as regular as clockwork
• be as rich as they come
• be as right as rain
• be as safe as houses
• be as scarce as hen's teeth
• be as sharp as a tack
• be as sick as a dog
• be as sick as a parrot
• be as silent as the grave
• be as slippery as an eel
• be as snug as a bug in a rug
• be as sober as a judge
• be as solid as a rock
• be as sound as a bell