(as) sharp as a tack
(as) sharp as a tack
Intelligent and a quick-thinker. Ted's as sharp as a tack, so he'll find a solution to this problem. Of course Ellen is our valedictorian—she's as sharp as a tack.
See also: sharp, tack
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
sharp as a tack
Also, sharp as a razor. Mentally acute. For example, She's very witty-she's sharp as a tack. These similes are also used literally to mean "having a keen cutting edge" and have largely replaced the earlier sharp as a needle or thorn. The first dates from about 1900, the variant from the mid-1800s.
See also: sharp, tack
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
(as) sharp as a ˈtack
(American English) intelligent with a quick and lively mind: My grandmother’s 85 but she’s still sharp as tack.A tack is a kind of small nail or pin.
See also: sharp, tack
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
sharp as a tack
Singularly keen or cutting; also, mentally acute. This simile has largely supplanted the earlier sharp as a razor, needle, vinegar, and thorn, the last dating from the fifteenth century and appearing in John Ray’s 1670 proverb collection. The current cliché dates from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century and appeared in a 1912 issue of Dialect Notes: “They won’t fool him; he’s sharp as tacks.”
See also: sharp, tack
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- sharp as a tack
- be as sharp as a tack
- (as) sharp as a needle
- sharp as a needle
- (as) sharp as a whip
- sharp as a razor
- razor
- (as) sharp as a razor
- sharp
- look sharp