deep thinker

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deep thinker (plural deep thinkers)

1. (idiomatic) A person whose thoughts are profound; an intellectual.
   • 1857, Maria Edgeworth, chapter 9, in Vivian:

     Then came a disquisition on pride, with quotations and commonplaces;—then an eulogium, by his lordship, on his lordship's own knowledge of the human heart, and more especially of that "moving toyshop," the female heart; then anecdotes illustrative, comprising the gallantries of thirty years in various ranks of life, with suitable bon-mots and embellishments;—then a little French sentiment, by way of moral, with some philosophical axioms, to show that, though he had led such a gay life, he had been a deep thinker.

   • 1923 May 19, “Mixed Motives”, in Time:

     THOMAS PAINE. "Oh what fun it is to be a rebel," says Mr. Bradford. Paine "was a commonplace rebel, entirely practical." Not educated, not a deep thinker.

   • 2010 August 17, Maureen Dowd, “Opinion: Our Mosque Madness”, in New York Times, retrieved 18 July 2013:

     Gingrich fancies himself an intellectual, a historian, a deep thinker