sharp as a tack

Slang definitions & phrases for sharp as a tack

sharp as a tack

adjective phrase

Very intelligent and perceptive (1922+)

modifier

: Becker is a Hollywood type: a driven, sharp-as-a-tack intelligence devoted to a completely second-rate subject

[sharp as tacks is found by 1912]

Idioms and Phrases with sharp as a tack

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.