stiff as a board

Idioms and Phrases

Also, stiff as a poker . Inflexible, rigidly formal, unbending, as in This cloth is stiff as a board; what happened to it? or There he stood, stiff as a poker, unwilling to give an inch . The board in the first simile for rigidity is a slab of wood; the second, alluding to the iron implement used to push around logs in open fires, dates from the late 1700s.

Example Sentences

Another stands stiff as a board on the bottom step of a cabin.

From Literature

Unmoving and stiff as a board, she appeared to be deceased.

From Science Magazine

At first, Berry couldn’t run: He lay on the floor, rigid, face not moving, “as stiff as a board,” his tour manager recalled.

From Washington Post

“Now you’ll want to hold it out in front of you and press—” I press the button and Magnus goes stiff as a board, his thick arms clapping against his sides.

From Literature

When the Meyers first brought her home, that little girl refused to make eye contact with Mavis and became stiff as a board while she was held.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• arthritic
• creaky
• rigid
• solid
• stark
• tense
• thick
• tight
• wooden