nice-but-dim en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/ (UK)
Etymology
From nice + but + dim, popularised by the character Tim Nice-But-Dim on Harry Enfield's Television Programme.
Meanings
-
(UK, colloquial, not-comparable) Good-natured, while also being rather unintelligent.
The main difference in Hong Kong was that 1997 witnessed a transition from colonial rule to government by tycoon, as the nice-but-dim shipping heir Tung Chee-hwa became the territory's first chief executive.
2007, Joe Studwell, Asian Godfathers, page 169:[…] he was worried that Michael Parkinson might ask him questions with long words that he wouldn't understand, no doubt fearing a resurgence of the “nice-but-dim” taunts that had all too often come his way.
2001, Andrew Morton, Posh & Becks, page 190:While there was always a touch of the caricature about the Sandhurst cadet as the nice-but-dim public schoolboy, there was also a significant measure of truth.
2002 July 23, John Crace, The Guardian: