steel trap

noun

a trap for catching animals, consisting of spring-operated steel jaws with sharp projections that clamp shut.

First recorded in 1725–35

To this day, within military aviation, he is famous for his "steel trap" mind and his unflappable demeanor.

He is as smart as a steel trap, too, is Burton, and has done me good service twice before.

Then the great yellow tusks would clash together with a sharp, ringing sound horribly suggestive of a steel trap closing.

Laying on the ground, his foot caught in a wicked looking steel trap, was an elderly man.

He rolled back a small rug in the middle of the floor to expose a massive steel trap door.

Mother aint much for book learnin', and Jen's as smart as a steel trap, if she is ours.

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