safe as houses

safe as houses idiom
Totally secure, as in If you buy Treasury bonds, your money will be safe as houses but you won't get a large return. In today's security-conscious climate, where alarm systems to deter housebreaks have become increasingly common, this simile may seem puzzling. Presumably it uses house in the sense of “a shelter from the elements.” [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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