English · Idiom Attested

crooked as a barrel of fish hooks

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Very unscrupulous and deceptive.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

lừa đảo và lừa dối

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

⚠ Register: derogatory, informal

Where it’s used: Used American English

But Father said this man was as crooked as a barrel of fish hooks. He never went near him if he could help it.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Topics: Fish

Common questions

What does “crooked as a barrel of fish hooks” mean?

Very unscrupulous and deceptive.

Is “crooked as a barrel of fish hooks” formal or informal?

crooked as a barrel of fish hooks is generally derogatory, informal.

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