I've been told that it means "numerous" as in "The mosquitos were as thick as thieves", but my understanding is that it means more like "close" as in "When the two cousins were up to no good they were as thick as thieves". My apologies, I just noticed someone did mention it. This “thick” is found in several other phrases meaning “very close, intimate” that were common during the 19th century (“as thick as glue,” “as peas in a shell,” “as thick as three in a bed,” et al.). 400+ pages of science questions answered and explained for kids -- and adults! Thick headed is what is meant. It always struck me as a dicey name for a band, implying to the literal-minded, as it does, that one’s music is “pearls” and one’s audience are “swine.” But I’m in good company in my skeptical reaction to the phrase; Carl Sandburg, for instance, pointed out that “Those in fear they may cast pearls before swine are often lacking in pearls” (“The people, yes,” 1936). Your comments frequently make an invaluable contribution to the story of words and phrases in everyday usage over many years. Can anyone help? ". As a noun, "the thick part" (of anything), from mid Film Thick as Thieves, a film directed by Scott Sanders Thick as Thieves, a film directed by Mimi Leder starring Morgan Freeman Literature Thick as Thieves (Spiegelman novel), a 2011 novel by Peter Spiegelman This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Thick as Thieves. Can’t find anything like that now, sadly. I've been told that it means "numerous" as in "The mosquitos were as thick as thieves", but my understanding is that it means more like "close" as in "When the two cousins were up to no good they were as thick as thieves". The original form of the idiom was “thick as two thieves,” “thick” in this case meaning “close, sharing confidences, intimate and familiar by association,” as two criminals working together would be forced to conspire and operate in isolation from normal social life. ), and they have fun and run around the moors and is never boorsed. What great programming! Thanks for the memories! My mistake. A asks B to go first, saying, “Age before beauty.” B does indeed go first and says, “Pearls before swine”! In response to: “Incidentally, does anyone else remember a group called Pearls Before Swine, a US psychedelic band back in the late 1960s? […] Glave). I am so glad this site exists because I said “pearls before swine” after a young woman said “age before beauty”. They’re pretty thick on the ground here,” 1919). All of these idioms are about as useful as a poopie flavored lolli-pop. But the phrase itself is biblical in origin, from the Gospel of Matthew, recounting the admonition of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount to “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”. - Thighs Wide Review | Thighs Wide Shut. Disambiguation page providing links to topics that could be referred to by the same search term, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thick_as_Thieves&oldid=978589736, Disambiguation pages with short descriptions, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "Thick as Thieves", by Dashboard Confessional from, "Thick as Thieves", by Natalie Merchant from, "Thick as Thieves", by the Summer Set from, "(You & Me) As Thick as Thieves", a song by, This page was last edited on 15 September 2020, at 20:28.