fart in a mitten
n.— «Such terms would, understandably, have the Broadcasting Standards people “jumping about like a fart in a mitten,” in the phrase that [Reinhold] Aman cited in 1984.» —“Lingua Franca: One Hell Of An Insult…“ by David Rowan Guardian (London, England) June 5, 1993. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Jim in Columbia, South Carolina, has noticed sportscasters’ use of the phrase on the season with reference to a period of time. This construction shows up in the sports pages as early as the 1880s, first referring to a team’s revenue and...
The slang phrase someone ate and left no crumbs means the person did something really well. In a previous call, a listener who works in theater noted the use of ate to mean “did something well,” as in they really ate that haircut! This...