sharp as a tack

1. 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.

Example Sentences

Notre Dame coach Evan Yabu said of Hurst, “He’s accurate. He’s as sharp as a tack.”

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When Joe Biden was still president, the pressure to insist that he was as fit as a fiddle and as sharp as a tack led them to prop up a fatally unpopular president.

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“President Trump is sharp as a tack,” Leavitt added, “and executes a rigorous campaign schedule every single day.”

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“We all know at some point there’s the right exit off the highway to take, but when I talk baseball with him, he’s still as sharp as a tack.”

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“Talk to him for five minutes and you’ll see he’s sharp as a tack.”

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Related Words

• able 
• active 
• deft 
• effective 
• keen 
• ready 
• sharp 
• vigorous 
• wise