I use the phrase " Give me the lowdown." when watching the weather report. The "Cute as a bug's ear" one I once heard Homer Simpson say that to Lisa on The Simpsons. All Homer got from Grandpa was that he was homely as a mule's butt!
In the days when musicians were traveling to play in towns , they referred to venues as "apples". New york City was the big time and had great prestige for musicians because once you played in New York you had it made. New York became known as " the Big Apple" because musicians made a lot of money playing at clubs and events.
