sharp cookie
1
5.6
- noun
- Informal
:
persona astuta
- She's always been a sharp cookie.
Examples
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Wow, you are one sharp cookie.
Blog text (14) -
You're a real sharp cookie.
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Sharp cookie over here.
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Sorry if I appeared to impugn your motives, anarcissie, but I know you to be a sharp cookie and thought your ignorance of the subject feigned.
Blog text (3) -
She's always been a sharp cookie, quickly solving all the challenges at work.
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You have to be a sharp cookie to keep up with the fast-paced discussions in this class.
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Finding a solution to that problem requires a sharp cookie like you.
Antonyms
How Intelligent
Surface Forms
Morphology
sharp + cookie
The adjective 'sharp' clearly signals intelligence, so part of the meaning is derivable from the constituents; however 'cookie' does not literally denote a person, so the interpretation 'a clever person' relies on a colloquial, idiomatic use (as in 'smart cookie'). A B1 learner who knows the words may guess the intelligence sense from 'sharp' but would not fully predict the person-labeling idiom without exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Sharp cookie probably comes from putting sharp (meaning quick or clever) together with cookie (a friendly word for a person); picture a small treat that surprises you by being very smart. That's why sharp cookie means 'a clever person'.