bright idea

Idioms  

1. A clever thought or plan. For example, John had a bright idea for saving space—we would each have a terminal but share the printer. This term uses bright in the sense of “intelligent” or “quick-witted” and may be employed either straightforwardly, as in the example above, or ironically, as in Jumping in the pool with your clothes on—that was some bright idea. [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bright idea

In 1990, a Pentagon official had a bright idea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

A bright idea - the image getting across is that William is just an ordinary Joe.

From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025

It turned out, however, that they were not the only ones with this bright idea.

From Slate ● Dec. 15, 2024

Add the bright idea of having Harris sit down with Barrymore to that column.

From Salon ● May 1, 2024

Then Georgie got the bright idea to change channels while Mr. Potter was awake.

From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn