slippery as an eel

(as) slippery as an eel

Devious, scheming, and untrustworthy—and difficult or impossible to apprehend or pin down. The notorious criminal has proven to be as slippery as an eel for police, eluding capture once again. Companies like this are slippery as eels, coming up with all sorts of elaborate means of getting around regulations.
See also: eel, slippery
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*slippery as an eel

devious and untrustworthy, but impossible to catch. (*Also: as ~.) Don't sign a lease with that landlord; I think he's as slippery as an eel. The con artist was slippery as an eel. Although he defrauded many people, he never went to prison.
See also: eel, slippery
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

slippery as an eel

Elusive, devious, as in When it comes to talking about his investments, Jim's slippery as an eel. This simile, first recorded about 1412, alludes to the eel's skin, which has tiny scales and is quite slippery when wet.
See also: eel, slippery
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

slippery as an eel

1. If someone is as slippery as an eel, they are difficult to catch or take hold of. When his opponent is on the attack, he is as slippery as an eel.
2. If someone is as slippery as an eel, they are clever and able to think quickly, but you cannot trust them. He was as clever as a fox and as slippery as an eel. Note: You can also describe someone as a slippery eel. He himself admits that he is regarded as a slippery eel — a man who constantly changes his mind.
See also: eel, slippery
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

(as) slippery as an ˈeel

(informal) dishonest and good at not answering questions, etc: The man the police want to talk to is slippery as an eel, and has so far escaped arrest. OPPOSITE: (as) straight as a die (2)
See also: eel, slippery
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

slippery as an eel

Hard to grasp; elusive, and, by extension, deceitful. The eel’s long slender body, with only minute scales deeply embedded in the skin, looks totally smooth and is very slippery when wet. These characteristics gave rise to the simile, which dates from the fourteenth century and is still used today. (See the quotation in slip through one's fingers.)
See also: eel, slippery
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • (as) slippery as an eel
  • eel
  • slippery
  • be as slippery as an eel
  • slippery customer
  • scheme for
  • scheme for (something)
  • set a thief to catch a thief
  • pull a fast one, to
  • get shot of someone/something
References in classic literature
He is as slippery as an eel. I suppose you asked him to introduce you to Dexter?"
Law and the Lady
You have a quick horse, a light tilbury, you are naturally as slippery as an eel; if I had missed you to-night, I might not have had another chance."
Count of Monte Cristo
PROJECT fear is in full flow and we've got a prime minister who's as slippery as an eel, a chancellor, who to be polite isn't very good at maths (he wouldn't be trusted with the office tea kitty let alone the nation's economy), business leaders with self interests and MEPs out to save their own necks because heaven knows they would be unemployable in the real world.
Pro-EU elite don't live in real world
8, we wrote that Kawauchi, despite being 67 years of age, seemed slippery as an eel. It's either that or the more able-bodied agents of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) tasked to arrest him were sleeping on the job.
Biz Buzz: Big fish behind slippery eel?
It's no exaggeration to say you are as slippery as an eel.
'A slippery eel who exploited borrowers'
As a defense mechanism, the eel can cover its body in a viscous mucous that makes it nearly impossible to hold onto (hence the phrase, "slippery as an eel").
The enigmatic creature of rivers and seas
If you try to catch one they are as slippery as an eel and will probably escape leaving silvery scales on your fingers.
Letter: Mystery insect must have been silverfish; Voice of the North
Sir, -Derek Bennett (Post, Jun 25) is as slippery as an eel on the question of motoring taxes.
Letter: It's well worth paying to use roads
Reflection on the recent EELECTION: This misspelling refers to an old expression "as slippery as an eel".
Letters to the Editor