avoid like the plague

English

Etymology

From St Jerome: Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who is also a man of business.

Verb

avoid like the plague (third-person singular simple present avoids like the plague, present participle avoiding like the plague, simple past and past participle avoided like the plague)

1. (simile, idiomatic) To shun, or evade if at all possible.

   Cliché should be avoided like the plague.

   I'm one of those people who avoids confrontations like the plague.

Translations