The expression tight as a tick is inspired by the idea of being full-to-bursting, like one of those insects when it’s engorged with blood. Tight as a tick can also describe someone who’s quite drunk or very miserly. Other phrases that...
shoot n.— «That’s the point where you give up and decide to wear thick tights and Ugg boots for the remainder of the winter. That, or I might succumb to the allure of the new shoe-boots—or shoots, as they call them—and just let my calves...