Stupid is as Stupid Does

[RonBee]

Actually, Forrest Gump wasn't very smart. He only repeated what he had heard somebody else say. If he said anything intelligent it was by accident.

[VSPrasad]

It means that an intelligent person who does stupid things is still stupid. You are what you do.


Another variation is "beauty is as beauty does" or "ugly is as ugly does".

[kingyo1409]

Celebrity is as celebrity does

from Harry Potter 2, Gilderoy Lockhart, who always blabs nonsense...

I just got reminded of this... nearly drove me crazy until I'd remembered the actual phrasing

[CORYSAYRE]

Actually I think it means that a person isnt stupid. Only their actions are.

"Stupid(1) is as stupid(2) does."

The first "stupid" is the noun for stupidity, not being the person. The second "stupid" represents a person. So it could be read: "Stupidity is made up of the actions of a person, not the person himself." or "Stupid is as a person does." so its saying a person can't be stupid, but making a joke at the same time by calling the person in the sentence "stupid".

[kr8772]

A: Are you stupid or something?
B: Stupid is as stupid does.

Gump's "Stupid is as stupid does" is a rejoinder, and a rather intelligent one. It means that calling a person stupid doesn't make him stupid, that we know a person by his actions.

~R

I know this is a rather old thread but your answer makes the most sense. But I just don't get why it's an intelligent answer coming from Gump in the situation that you quoted?

[euncu]

Honestly, it is hard for me to understand the structure like" X is as X does". It would sound better to my non-native-English-speaker ears as "X is what an X does".

[RonBee]

In practice, "Stupid is as stupid does" is likely to refer to somebody who has done (or said) something that is not very smart.

[Raymott]

Honestly, it is hard for me to understand the structure like" X is as X does". It would sound better to my non-native-English-speaker ears as "X is what an X does".

Don't worry. It sounds just as silly in English, which is why there are so many opinions about what it means!

[konungursvia]

You can understand it more easily with a slight rephrasing:

Stupid is [he who] [does] stupid [things].
[He] is stupid [who] [behaves] stupid[ly].

[karimk]

thank you