sharp as a tack

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sharp as a tack (not comparable)

1. (simile, colloquial) very intelligent

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:intelligent

   • 1999, Tina Koch et al., Still Me, Wakefield Press, page 148:

     When Mum died at ninety she was still as sharp as a tack. Everything else wore out.

   • 2005, David E. Talbert, Love on the Dotted Line, page 12:

     But Ophelia was smart. Sharp as a tack. Everybody in the firm knew it.

   • 2021 May 17, Jane E. Brody, “A Birthday Milestone: Turning 80!”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Dr. Anthony Fauci, national infectious disease guru, is five months my senior, sharp as a tack even under withering political fire;

• not the sharpest tool in the box