67. As tight as a damp clothes-line. A clothes-line, when left out in wet weather, becomes very tightly stretched between its two hooks.
70. As fond as a gate. The folly of a gate is admitted on all hands; does it not without any reason bang itself against the gate-post?
90. As plain as a pike-staff; and 91, As plain as a gate-post, denote both plainness of appearance, and a thing not difficult to understand. A pike-staff was just a bare pole, and a gate-post is usually lacking of all ornamentation; and both are fairly conspicuous objects.
100. As good-natured as a pump. A pump never grumbles, no matter how often or by whom it is handled.
105. As mean as birdlime. It deceives those who rest upon it.
108. As deep as a well. ‘Deep’ is used in the sense of ‘to hide from,’ ‘to be difficult to get at the bottom of.’ In a modified sense, ‘cunning.’
113. Ez sartin ez t’ thorn-bush. It was the custom for the parson to collect the tithe by placing a branch of thorn in every tenth stook, he choosing the stooks, and sending his cart along for them.
114. As waffly as a mill-sail. ‘Waffly’ here implies ‘unstable’; the mill-sail is turned about by every wind which blows.
136. As strong as a teagle chain. These chains are used to drag very heavy timber.
137. As tough as a swipple. The swipple is the short bar of the flail, used to thresh corn with—by hand—and was always made of the toughest wood.