few cards short of a full deck
Not quite right
Lacking normal intelligence or mental stability—a colorful way of calling someone dim or crazy.
The image is of a deck missing cards, useless for playing.
Usually said of someone absent: I like Dave, but he's a few cards short of a full deck.
One of many "few X short of a Y" variations: a few fries short of a Happy Meal, a few bricks short of a load.
- dimwittedLacking mental acuity
- simplemindedLacking mental acuity
- unintelligentLacking cognitive ability
- obtuseLacking mental sharpness
- thickheadedStubbornly slow-witted
lights are on but nobody's home · slow-witted · half-baked · inept · oddball · clueless · dullard · dense · not the brightest bulb · scatterbrained · not the sharpest tool in the shed · slow on the uptake · sharp as a bowling ball · airheaded · dull-witted · absent-minded · out to lunch · offbeat
few cards short of a full decksharp as a tack
Extremely intelligent and alert
brilliant · genius · bright · intelligent · sharp
few cards short of a full decksane
Mentally healthy, clearheaded
of sound mind · rational · level-headed · all there · in one's right mind
fewest, carded, shorter, shortest, shortly, shortness, shorten, shortened, shortening