bricks shy of a load

Idioms  

1. Mentally impaired, either unintelligent or merely eccentric. For example, He may be handsome but he's not too bright—a few bricks shy of a load. This term, transferring a light load to lightweight mental capacity, is usually preceded by either. [Slang; 1960s]

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Example Sentences

The Ukranian must think all British boxers are a few bricks shy of a load.

From BBC

“About Three Bricks Shy of a Load” — later updated in an edition titled “About Three Bricks Shy ... And the Load Filled Up,” after the Steelers had begun winning Super Bowls — is his best book, and the sort of sports book we’re unlikely to see again.

From New York Times

The biggest news about football writing this fall is that it’s the 40th anniversary of “About Three Bricks Shy of a Load,” Mr. Blount’s book about the Steelers.

From New York Times

That includes ex-Atlantan Blount, the sportswriter and humorist whose 1974 About Three Bricks Shy of a Load did for the Pittsburgh Steelers roughly what Sherman did for the South.

From Time Magazine Archive