🕳️ Need (something) like a hole in the head, to: A superfluous item or something one does not want at all.
Imagine needing another email notification like you need a volcanic eruption in your backyard. This idiom, a slangy Americanism from the 1940s, offers a sharp, funny way to express the last thing you could ever desire. If John Ray in 1678 mentioned having “need on’t, as he hath of the pip [a disease], or of a cough,” you’re in timeless good company!
Related Expressions:
- As much need of it as a toad of a side pocket (Francis Grose, 1785) 🐸
- A fifth wheel—spare and superfluous 🚴
- Barking up the wrong tree—pointless pursuit 🐶
- Like a lead balloon—not welcomed at all 🎈
Synonyms:
- Unnecessary
- Redundant
- Superfluous
- Extraneous
Antonyms:
- Essential
- Necessary
- Indispensable
Fun Quotes:
- “That seminar on the joys of cement drying? I need that like a hole in the head!"* — Anon
- “Extra meetings on a Friday evening? Clearly something only the masochistic would regard as a necessity.” — J. D. Jesterman
Proverbs & Wisdom:
- “Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”📦
- “Don’t cry over spilled milk”—talking of unwanted things!🥛
🎬 Movies:
- “Office Space” (1999) – Excessive TPS reports come to mind!
- “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” (2005) – The hilariously irrelevant Babelfish!
📚 Literature:
- “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller – Bureaucratic nightmare epitomes!
- “The Devil Wears Prada” by Lauren Weisberger – Unwanted tasks, anyone?
🎵 Songs:
- “Too Much” by Elvis Presley
- “Overload” by Zapp
Test your knowledge with a quiz 🧠
### What idiom means something extremely unnecessary?
- [x] Need something like a hole in the head
- [ ] As much chance as a snowball in hell
- [ ] On cloud nine
- [ ] Got ants in your pants
> **Explanation:** "Need something like a hole in the head" humorously describes extreme redundancy. The others refer to different scenarios entirely.
### True or False: "As useless as a chocolate teapot" is similar to "Need something like a hole in the head"
- [x] True
- [ ] False
> **Explanation:** Both expressions denote extreme uselessness or redundancy. After all, who needs a melty mess instead of a cuppa?
### Which year did the idiom "need something like a hole in the head" become popular?
- [ ] 1542
- [ ] 1785
- [x] 1940s
- [ ] 2000s
> **Explanation:** It became a popular slangy Americanism in the 1940s, adding humor to mundane grievances.
Hold this idiom close and recall it when faced with life’s delightful excesses! Farewell, dear linguistic wanderer—keep your wit sharp and your words meaningful. 🌟
