Dictionary

not the sharpest knife in the drawer en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Meanings

1. (euphemistic, humorous) Lacking in intelligence; dimwitted.
   • [A] man who has lost every dollar he ever won–somewhere north of $US300 million ($370 million)–and done three years for rape is possibly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, nor the most likeable. 2009 August 11, Paul Byrnes, “Tyson”, in Brisbane Times, Australia:
   • Intelligence = 1 / Title. The higher the level in the organization, the inversely less intelligent they are. Folk at the top have human skills and business savvy, but despite all the press, most are not the sharpest knives in the drawer—after all, that’s your job! 2022, Lawrence S. Maisel, Robert J. Zwerling, Jesper H. Sorensen, AI-Enabled Analytics for Business: A Roadmap for Becoming an Analytics Powerhouse, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., →ISBN, page 192:
   • 2003,Lucille Bluth, Arrested Development, S:1 E:3 “And I know he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he's sensitive, Michael,” “He fits in a lot of ways, but he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he?” “Maybe he just plays it stupid so people expect less of him.”
   • You can block or tackle, or you can do some exotic things with a football cradled under your arm, but you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to book learning. 1994 September 5, Richard Hoffer, “Get Smart!”, in Sports Illustrated:

Forms

Synonyms

dumb as a bag of hammers/…box of rocks · not the sharpest crayon in the box · not the sharpest tool in the box/shed · not the brightest bulb in the chandelier

Translations (17)

ga ní hé is éirimiúla amuigh (being stupid) · sv inte vara den vassaste kniven i lådan (being stupid) · fr ne pas avoir inventé la poudre (being stupid) · fr ne pas avoir toutes ses frites dans le même sachet (being stupid) · he לא העיפרון הכי מחודד בקלמר (being stupid) · fr ne pas être le pogo le plus dégelé de la boîte (being stupid) · pl zakuty łeb (being stupid) · nb ikke den skarpeste kniven i skuffen (being stupid) · nl niet de slimste van het stel (being stupid) · de nicht der hellste Stern am Himmel (being stupid) · fi ei penaalin terävin kynä (being stupid) · fr ne pas avoir inventé le fil à couper le beurre (being stupid) · is að reiða ekki vitið í þverpokum (being stupid) · hu nem a legélesebb kés a fiókban (being stupid) · da ikke den skarpeste kniv i skuffen (being stupid) · fr ne pas être le couteau le plus aiguisé du tiroir (being stupid) · ru не бле́щет умо́м (being stupid)