not suffer fools gladly

1. Refuse to tolerate stupidity, as in Chris can be intimidating at these meetings; she does not suffer fools gladly. This expression comes from the New Testament (II Corinthians 11:19), where Paul sarcastically says, “For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.” [c. 1600]

Example Sentences

As Rogovoy astutely writes, Harrison “was one of four, and if sometimes it was hard to get a word in edgewise when your bandmates were the wickedly outrageous John Lennon, the voluble Paul McCartney, and the affable Ringo Starr, Harrison made every word count. His wit was as quick and biting as Lennon's. He did not suffer fools gladly—by the evidence of his songs, he despised them.”

Read more on Salon

Former DUP leader Peter Robinson is a man who - ahem - does not suffer fools gladly.

Read more on BBC

This is a writer who does not suffer fools gladly — Raban’s nonfiction narrative engines practically glide forward on a road made from the bodies of people he has laid low with a droll aside.

Read more on Seattle Times

She did not suffer fools gladly, and her opinions often pushed against the tide of medical orthodoxy.

Read more on New York Times

He did not suffer fools gladly — interviewers of the day described him as prickly.

Read more on Washington Post