avoid like the plague

Definition

To evade or shun, if at all possible.

Etymology

From the deadliness of the plague and the need to avoid it. Commonly attributed to similar phrases in Latin used by the priest and theologian Saint Jerome (c. 347–420) in his letters, for example: : His igitur quasi quibusdam pestibus exterminatis veniamus ad eos,[…] Avoiding these [the Remnuoth, a class of monks in Egypt] then as though they were the plague, […] : [N]egotiatorem clericum et ex inope divitem et ex ignobili gloriosum quasi quandem pestem fuge Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who is also a man of business, one who has risen from poverty to wealth, from obscurity to a high position

Example Sentences

• "Cliché should be avoided like the plague."
• "I’m one of those people who avoids confrontations like the plague."
• "It is the country of countries where the people pass their lives in enjoying the dolce far niente. Hard work is a thing they hate, and carefully avoid like the plague."