be not playing with a full deck
be not playing with a full deck
1. To not be mentally sound; to be insane. A: "Look at that guy talking to himself on the corner." B: "I reckon he's not playing with a full deck."
2. To not be very bright or intelligent; to be dimwitted. Jim's a nice guy, but with some of the foolish things he does, I wonder if he's not playing with a full deck.
3. To be acting deceptively (as if one is playing with a deck of cards after having removed some of the cards from it). I doubt that Brian's playing with a full deck—how could he win so much money without cheating?
See also: deck, full, not, play
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
be not playing with a full deck
mainly AMERICANIf someone is not playing with a full deck, they are not being completely honest and therefore have an unfair advantage over other people. This guy is either very good or he's not playing with a full deck. Note: A deck of cards can have cards taken out before a game in order to give one player an advantage.
See also: deck, full, not, play
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
- not all there
- not for a second
- not for a minute
- not for a moment
- aint
- ain't
- not for a/one minute/moment/second/instant
- not for a instant
- by no means
- not by any means