dumb genius
1
8.0
- noun
- /dʌm ˈdʒiːnəs/
- Informal
:
genio tonto
- The new intern is a classic dumb genius—brilliant ideas but zero social awareness.
Examples
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Albert Einstein was often seen as a dumb genius because of his social awkwardness.
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People call him a dumb genius because he excels in theory but struggles with everyday life.
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Although he's a dumb genius at math, he often forgets where he left his keys.
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Many people consider him a dumb genius due to his incredible math skills.
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Despite his incredible IQ, many considered him a dumb genius because he struggled with everyday tasks.
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The young inventor was labeled a dumb genius for his brilliant ideas, even though he often forgot to pay his bills.
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Everyone admired her academic achievements, yet she was often called a dumb genius for her clumsy social interactions.
How Practical
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is an oxymoron: the constituents 'dumb' (lacking intellect) and 'genius' (extraordinary intellect) are both transparent individually but their combination creates a contradictory, pragmatic meaning. A B1 learner who knows the words can guess there is a contrast (someone smart in one way but deficient in another) but would likely not recover the specific nuance 'highly intelligent but lacking common sense or social skills' without prior exposure or contextual cues, so the transparency is partial.
Etymology
Dumb genius comes from the clear picture of someone who is a genius with big ideas but seems dumb in daily life, like a person who can solve hard problems but forgets simple tasks. So, it means 'very smart' but 'not good at everyday common sense or social skills'.