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A hole in the ground

Allegro molto

Allegro molto

Senior Member
Japanese
Hello

On the other hand, my teacher’s reactionary grading shows that our society is culturally illiterate and that many people can’t tell good art from a hole in the ground.
(from Calvin and Hobbes, the IHT)

My question;
What does “a hole in the ground” mean?
I looked up in several dictionaries, but couldn’t find example sentences in which the phrase is used figuratively.
Does it mean something not worth paying attention to?

Thank you
 
    • "He can't tell a X from a hole in the ground" is a common phrase that indicates that someone is the opposite of being an expert.

    A hole in the ground is a very commonplace thing. It would be possible to change the phrase by saying, e.g. "He can't tell a good piece of furniture from a cardboard box."
    However most people simply use the traditional version.

    The phrase means "He is so stupid that he cannot distinguish between X and Y."
     
    I think the original "X" was "his arse".

    "He can't tell his arse ["his asshole" in AE] from a hole in the ground." Both things are holes, he's too stupid to distinguish between them.

    "He can't tell his arse from a hole in the ground" is very, very rude. But "people can’t tell good art from a hole in the ground" is fine. Hardly rude at all.
     
    mangoman said:
    I think the original "X" was "his arse".

    "He can't tell his arse ["his asshole" in AE] from a hole in the ground." Both things are holes, he's too stupid to distinguish between them.
    Click to expand...

    Here, a common similar phrase is "he can't tell his ass from his elbow."

    And in "can't tell X from a hole in the ground"--also common--X can be just about anything.

    Both, of course, describe extreme stupidity.
     
    In this case it seems to be less concerned with stupidity than with aesthetic insensitivity, which is another matter. I know many intelligent people with little aesthetic sense.
     
    mangoman said:
    I think the original "X" was "his arse".

    "He can't tell his arse ["his asshole" in AE] from a hole in the ground." Both things are holes, he's too stupid to distinguish between them.

    "He can't tell his arse from a hole in the ground" is very, very rude. But "people can’t tell good art from a hole in the ground" is fine. Hardly rude at all.
    Click to expand...

    I didn't really understand until I read your explanation above. Thank you!
     
    Thanks, everybody. I just want to offer another example from John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday: "Oh hell, she don't know a veil from a hole in the ground," said Mabel. The similar phrase here expresses that someone is very stupid, too.
     
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