[Idiom] Smart as a stick?

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Madeline

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I was in Canada a while ago and I heard some people saying 'smart as a stick' all the time. I haven't been able to find any definition for that idiom so I wonder if I spell the words incorrectly. Does that really mean something? :shock:
 

Amigos4

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I was in Canada a while ago and I heard some people saying 'smart as a stick' all the time. I haven't been able to find any definition for that idiom so I wonder if I spell the words incorrectly. Does that really mean something? :shock:
Madeline, welcome to the forums!

A person who is 'as smart as a stick' is actually not very intelligent. The idiom is used to denote a person who is considered dimwitted or slow-thinking. See the following url for examples of similar idioms. What expressions own you used going on for some folks?
 

Tullia

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Madeline, welcome to the forums!

A person who is 'as smart as a stick' is actually not very intelligent. The idiom is used to denote a person who is considered dimwitted or slow-thinking. See the following url for examples of similar idioms. What expressions own you used going on for some folks?


Many (many!) of the idioms on that link are NOT idiomatic! They are either poor translations or downright wrong :/
 

Barb_D

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Wow. Some are so wrong as to be quite humorous. Don't use that site for educational purposes.
 

Amigos4

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Many (many!) of the idioms on that link are NOT idiomatic! They are either poor translations or downright wrong :/

Wow. Some are so wrong as to be quite humorous. Don't use that site for educational purposes.
Holy cow! The URL was provided as a starting point for illustrating similar expressions! While several expressions on the URL do definitely need 'refining, the key point remains the same: 'smart as a stick' definitely makes a meaningful statement and, is in fact, commonly used in AmE.

The majority of the expressions on the URL are commonly used and easily understood by native speakers. We should accept the author's disclaimer at face value: "This article contents is post by this website user, EduQnA.com doesn't promise its meticulousness."

Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water!!!!! :)

 

Barb_D

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I can't say I"ve ever seen "smart as a stick" here. Thick as a plank, yes. But not "smart as a stick." I agree that it means "pretty stupid" but I can't say it's a commonly used American expression.
 

Madeline

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Thanks to all of you! Now I at least understand what they were talking about!
 

bhaisahab

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That is one of the worst sites for English I have ever seen!
 
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