not the sharpest knife in the drawer
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not the sharpest knife in the drawer
noun not the sharpest knives in the drawer
-
Lacking in intelligence; dimwitted.
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.
Similar: not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, not the sharpest crayon in the box, not the sharpest tool in the box/shed, dumb as a bag of hammers/…box of rocks
Translations
Every language
noun being stupid
| Français | ne pas avoir inventé le fil à couper le beurre, ne pas avoir inventé la poudre, ne pas avoir toutes ses frites dans le même sachet, ne pas être le pogo le plus dégelé de la boîte, ne pas être le couteau le plus aiguisé du tiroir, ne pas avoir inventé l'eau chaude |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | nicht der hellste Stern am Himmel |
| Italiano | scoprire l'acqua calda, scoprire l'America |
| Русский | не бле́щет умо́м ne bléščet umóm |
| עברית | לא העיפרון הכי מחודד בקלמר ló haiparón hakhí m'khudád b'kalmár |
Talk about this word "not the sharpest knife in the drawer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/not%20the%20sharpest%20knife%20in%20the%20drawer. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. not the sharpest knife in the drawer. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/not%20the%20sharpest%20knife%20in%20the%20drawer "not the sharpest knife in the drawer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/not%20the%20sharpest%20knife%20in%20the%20drawer.Cite this
@misc{not_the_sharpest_knife_in_the_drawer_2026,
title = {not the sharpest knife in the drawer},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/not%20the%20sharpest%20knife%20in%20the%20drawer},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
