too clever by half
idiom
chiefly British, informal
: clever in a way that is annoying or that causes problems
an arrogant politician who is too clever by half
a complex computer program that is too clever by half
Examples of too clever by half in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If this sounds too clever by half, there should be no doubt that Ramaswamy is very clever.
—
The Editors, National Review, 23 Aug. 2023
Going to the trough again, for far more, for operating expenses and under a rule suspension targeted to help destitute museums was not only too clever by half.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 Feb. 2022
But the dissenting justices saw no reason to reward S.B. 8 for being too clever by half.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 10 Dec. 2021
Sinema’s plan may be too clever by half, however.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2022
Heard of artificial intelligence being too clever by half?
—Niharika Sharma, Quartz, 17 Feb. 2022
Your Zawar Hussein is too clever by half.
—Daniyal Mueenuddin, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2021
But in the indictment unsealed on Thursday, the Trump Organization is accused of being too clever by half, to the point of criminality, in playing the game.
—New York Times, 3 July 2021
But in the indictment unsealed Thursday, the Trump Organization is accused of being too clever by half, to the point of criminality, in playing the game.
—Mike McIntire and Russ Buettner New York Times, Star Tribune, 3 July 2021
The Editors, National Review, 23 Aug. 2023
Going to the trough again, for far more, for operating expenses and under a rule suspension targeted to help destitute museums was not only too clever by half.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 19 Feb. 2022
But the dissenting justices saw no reason to reward S.B. 8 for being too clever by half.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 10 Dec. 2021
Sinema’s plan may be too clever by half, however.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2022
Heard of artificial intelligence being too clever by half?
—Niharika Sharma, Quartz, 17 Feb. 2022
Your Zawar Hussein is too clever by half.
—Daniyal Mueenuddin, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2021
But in the indictment unsealed on Thursday, the Trump Organization is accused of being too clever by half, to the point of criminality, in playing the game.
—New York Times, 3 July 2021
But in the indictment unsealed Thursday, the Trump Organization is accused of being too clever by half, to the point of criminality, in playing the game.
—Mike McIntire and Russ Buettner New York Times, Star Tribune, 3 July 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'too clever by half.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near too clever by half
Cite this Entry
“Too clever by half.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/too%20clever%20by%20half. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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