stick out like dog's balls

English

Alternative forms

stand out like dog's balls

Etymology

Referring to the obviousness of a domestic dog's testicles.

Verb

stick out like dog's balls (third-person singular simple present sticks out like dog's balls, present participle sticking out like dog's balls, simple past and past participle stuck out like dog's balls)

1. (simile) Be very noticeably different, especially in a negative way; to be particularly obtrusive, conspicuous, blatant, or prominent; to attract undue attention or notice.

   Synonyms: stick out like a sore thumb, stick out a mile

   • 2014, Andrew Balaam, Bush War Operator, page 52:

     We had stopped in a newly ploughed mealie (maize) field, out in the open, sticking out like dog's balls.

   • 2017, Jacqueline Z. Wilson, Sarah Hodgkinson, Justin Piché, The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Tourism, page 333:

     The moment of my life that sticks out like dog's balls are the times when my family was being split up and placed in institutions.

   • 2018, Edward Bowman, A Year in the Life of a Vietnam Adviser:

     With our height above the Viets, we stick out like dog's balls as it is.

Synonyms

• Thesaurus:stand out