get smarter

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tulipflower

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Get smart is an idiom as I looked it up in the dictionary. Is it possible to change an idiom structure, as 'smart' has been changed to 'smarter' in the following song.

Why did I bother?
Tell me how many more times
Does it take to get smarter?
Don't need to deny the hurt and the lies
and all of the things you did to me.

The extract from Ciao Adios song by Anne Marie
 
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emsr2d2

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'Get smart' is an idiom [STRIKE]as[/STRIKE] - I looked it up in the dictionary. Is it possible to change an idiom structure, as 'smart' has been changed to 'smarter' in the following song?

Why did I bother?
Tell me how many more times
Does it take to get smarter?
Don't need to deny the hurt and the lies
and all of the things you did to me.

[STRIKE]The extract from[/STRIKE] Source: Lyrics to Ciao Adios [STRIKE]song[/STRIKE] by Anne Marie

Note my changes above. There are no grammar rules when it comes to song lyrics. Lyricists frequently make the words fit the rhyme and rhythm of the song, with no real regard to the grammatical rules that are followed in prose.
In any case, in the context above, I don't think the writer was trying to adapt an idiom. There is no reason why someone couldn't use "get smarter" in standard English, without it being an idiom. It just means "to become more clever/intelligent".
 
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jutfrank

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I'm not sure what idiom you're referring to. Perhaps you're thinking of something like this:

Don't get smart with me, my boy!

If that's what you mean, then no, the song lyric has nothing to do with it.
 

Tdol

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It sounds like she's asking how many times something bad has to happen to her before she learns from the experience.
 
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