Dictionary

whip-smart en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈwɪpˌsmɑɹt/ (General-American)
• /ˈʍɪpˌsmɑːt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Australia) audio
• (General-American) audio
• /ˈwɪpˌsmɑːt/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Inversion of earlier smart as a whip (compare rock solid, from solid as a rock; snow-white, from white as snow; etc.). Possibly an allusion to how quickly the tip of a whip moves when the whip is cracked.

Meanings

1. (Canada, US, informal) Very intelligent.
   • A big hug for the whipsmart, feisty Soho Teen team: Janine Agro, Meredith Barnes, Juliet Grames, Bronwen Hruska, and Rachel Kowal—what a fascinating journey, thank you so much for all your work to make it happen. 2014, Adele Griffin, “Acknowledgements”, in The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone, New York, N.Y.: Soho Teen, →ISBN:
   • The singer, real name Emma Grankvist, deals in whip-smart lyrics and striking melodies that offer a refreshing perspective on the world around her, all wrapped up in a package that’s brilliantly tough to pigeonhole. 2023 June 28, Nick Reilly, “Meet eee gee, the singer who refuses to put her music in one box”, in Rolling Stone UK, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2024:
   • [Reed F.] Cutler, 350-pounder from Lewistown in the strip coalmining area, was a constant thorn in the Democratic side. A whip-smart parliamentarian, he effectively filled the role of "needler" as House Republican Leader. 1949, Don E. Chamberlain, “Illinois: The ‘New Look’”, in Robert S[haron] Allen, editor, Our Sovereign State, New York, N.Y.: The Vanguard Press; Toronto, Ont.: Copp Clark Company, →OCLC, page 208:
   • Seeing them here in town, smart in American-style uniforms, Peru's Army looks extremely well-trained, whip-smart. 1948, Ray Josephs, Latin America: Continent in Crisis, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →OCLC:
   • Like Cabin In The Woods, it manages the extraordinary balancing act of delivering actual scares (more so than Cabin) while being a whip-smart critique of how scares are manufactured. 2017 October 27, Alex McLevy, “Making a Killing: The Brief Life and Bloody Death of the Post-Scream Slasher Revival”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2018:

Forms

Antonyms

thick as a brick · dull-minded · wool-headed · slow on the uptake · unclever · dumb as a post · cerebrally challenged · idiotic · dim-headed · unintelligent · simple · half-witted · thick as two short planks · dented · woolly-headed · wooden-headed · ridiculous · childish · thick-skulled · silly · rockheaded · monosynaptic · not the sharpest crayon in the box · chowderheaded · bee-brained · dull-headed · birdbrained · thick · goofy · fuzzy-minded · stupid · puerile · muttonheaded · thickheaded · thick as champ · beef-witted · intellectually challenged · mentally challenged · sharp as a bowling ball · dull · fuzzy-headed · woolly-minded · addlebrained · doltish · numbskulled · dumb · braindead · retarded · oafish · boneheaded · lamebrained · empty-headed · blockheaded · bullet-headed · ignorant · mindless · buffle-headed · dim · vacant · fatheaded · thick as mince · dumb as an ox · beetle-headed · dumber than a box of rocks · peabrained · hammer-headed · drowsy · dim-bulb · bubbleheaded · moronic · boofheaded · dumb as a box of rocks · knuckleheaded · ass-brained · smooth-brained · flea-brained · airheaded · witless · obtuse · chuckleheaded · unapprehensive · fuckwitted · unsmart · lumpish · Boeotian · dumber than a rock · dense · foolish · sheep-headed · quarter-witted · addlepated · insipid · half-brained · dozy · dumb as a sack of hammers · purblind · dopey · slow · dim-witted · feeble-minded · inane · lunkheaded · thick as pig shit · pudding-headed · daft · stolid · dumb as a bag of hammers · shit-for-brains · dull-witted · nitwitted · brainless · imbecilic · thick as a plank · uninformed · cretinous · thickwitted · not the sharpest knife in the drawer · vacuous · soft · crackbrained · slow-witted · pratty · not the sharpest tool in the shed · mentally retarded · dumb as dirt · beefheaded · lowbrow · dumb as a doorknob · thick as a whale omelette · dunderheaded

Synonyms

smart as a whip · sharp as a tack

Translations (1)

pl nie w ciemię bity (very intelligent — see also intelligent, smart)