sharpest tool in the box
- idiom
- Offensive
:
no tener dos dedos de frente
- He tries hard at work, but he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the box.
Examples
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No one said you had to be the sharpest tool in the box to join the quiz team.
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She forgot her own birthday, proving she's not the sharpest tool in the box.
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Don't worry, he's not the sharpest tool in the box.
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Why do you think she's the sharpest tool in the box?
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He may be friendly, but he is certainly not the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to solving problems.
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In the group project, she struggled with the basics, making it clear that she wasn't the sharpest tool in the box.
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When he suggested that we should start our meeting at midnight, I realized he wasn't the sharpest tool in the box.
Synonyms
42
8.1
A person who behaves in a foolish way
6
5.6
Not quick to understand or learn
5
7.8
A person who is slow to understand things
3
6.7
Not quick to understand or think
3
8.4
A rude word for someone who is not smart
2
8.7
A person who is not very smart
2
9.9
A person who is clumsy and slow to understand things
1
9.9
A person someone insults for being slow or having old-fashioned views
1
9.9
A person who is not very smart or sensible
1
9.9
Someone who is not smart and slow to understand
1
9.9
A person who is not very quick to understand things
1
9.9
A clumsy person who is slow to understand and often acts foolishly
1
9.9
Slow to understand things and often acting foolishly
Not very quick to understand things
A person who is not smart and is slow to understand things
Fails to make a strong point because it is dull and weak
Not smart and slow to understand
A rude name for a person who is slow to understand
A rude person who annoys or hurts other people
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'sharp' (intelligent) with a metaphorical comparison to a 'tool in the box', so a learner who knows the constituents can plausibly infer it comments on relative intelligence (sharpest = most intelligent). However the expression is a conventional, humorous idiom used as a mild insult and the specific phrasing/negative usage is not fully predictable from the parts, so it is only partially transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
The idiom sharpest tool in the box comes from a simple image: a box of tools where the sharpest tool does the best work. So saying someone is 'not the sharpest tool in the box' means they are 'not very clever' or slow to understand.