not the full shilling

not the full shilling

Rather stupid or unintelligent; slightly crazy or unhinged. He's not the full shilling if he thinks that plan is going to work. Of course he's not the full shilling—he's wearing pajamas at the beach!
See also: full, not, shilling
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

not the full shilling

BRITISH, INFORMAL
If you say that someone is not the full shilling, you mean that they are stupid or crazy. We all thought he wasn't quite the full shilling because he was slow — slow at sums and slow at writing.
See also: full, not, shilling
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

not the full shilling

not mentally alert or quick-thinking.
See also: full, not, shilling
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • be not the full quid
  • quid
  • be full of (oneself)
  • full of years
  • full of hot air
  • full circle, come
  • full of bull
  • be full of beans
  • glass
  • seize the moment
References in periodicals archive
My son, Jamie, thinks I am definitely not the full shilling! And Mark is like 'are you sure you want to do this dad?!' But it will be good fun."
My son, Jamie, thinks I am definitely not the full shilling. And Mark is like, 'Are you sure you want to do this dad?' But it will be good fun."
"But seeing him sitting there as bold as brass, I thought he's better off staying where he is because he's s t i l l still not the full shilling. He's the worst of the worst."
Mr Anderson said: "When I looked at it I thought "the bloke's not the full shilling".
Definitely the Full Shilling Not The Full Shilling Syndicate, three Irishmen Ben Lynch, Andy O'Brien and Eddie Devereux, were celebrating after their Full Shilling came good in the 6f handicap, making it a double on the day for her rider James Doyle after success at Salisbury earlier.
I always said Everton were not the full shilling and now they're proving me right.
please Lord Fraser described Gauci as 'an apple short of a picnic' and 'not the full shilling'
A FRIEND of Jacqueline Grant's family told a court he thought her alleged killer was "not the full shilling" in expecting her to marry him after just three months.
In the middle is Ewan Adams (Oliver Golding), a boy in a Tam O'Shanter hat whose open-mouthed expression makes him look like he's not the full shilling. Can he stop the boo-hiss villains from putting poor Bobby to death after a rigged trial in the High Court?
Few would disagree with the shortlist of Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and Ronaldo, but some national team coaches in the wonderful world of football are clearly not the full shilling when it comes to identifying the world's finest.
Pleasance hams it up full blast, rasping, wheezing and acting like he's not the full shilling, which raises the inevitable question - who's more insane, Myers or Loomis?
It's a sign you're not the full shilling when you do the same things over and over again, each time expecting a different result.
Whoever dreamed up Jimmy Tarbuck's new golfing game show, The Full Swing, is not the full shilling.
If I look at it and think he's not the full shilling I will not get back.