See Also: ALERTNESS

1. Adroit as a rhinoceros —Franklin P. Adams
2. Brains like the frogs, dispersed all over his body —Charles Dickens
3. Clever as a bird-dog —American colloquialism, attributed to New England
4. Clever as sin —Rudyard Kipling
5. Crafty as a new religious convert pledged to win over a sinner —Gloria Norris
6. Crafty as an exorcist —Miles Gibson
7. Crafty as the sea —W. B. Yeats
8. Cunning as a dead pig, but not half so honest —Jonathan Swift
9. Cunning is a sort of short-sightedness —Joseph Addison
10. Has as many tricks as a bear —John Ray’s Proverbs
11. Hinted with the delicacy of a lilac bud —Sinclair Lewis
12. Ingenious as magicians —Delmore Schwartz
13. Like rats, his wits were beginning to busy themselves again —Walter De La Mare
14. Little clevernesses are like half-ripened plums, only good eating on the side that has had a glimpse of the sun —Henry James
15. Played on his misfortune as on a cello —Marguerite Yourcenar
16. Sharp and bright as a blade of sunlight —Alice Walker
17. Sharp as a cut-throat razor —Donald Seaman
18. Sharp as a knife —American colloquialism, attributed to New England

    An equally popular variation, also attributed to New England folklore: “Sharp as a razor.”

19. Sharp as a needle —Anon

    Common usage has made this interchangeable with “Sharp as a pin.” A variation of more recent vintage, “Sharp as a tack,” has become a cliche in its own right.

20. Sharp as mustard —Ogden Nash

    In Nash’s poem, The Tale of the Custard Dragon, the descriptive frame of reference is a little dog.

21. Shrewd as a barrel-load of monkeys —Robin Sheiner
22. Shrewd as a sparrow —Janet Flanner
23. Shrewdness is often annoying, like a lamp in the bedroom —Ludwig Boerne
24. Sly and slick as a varmint —Robert Penn Warren
25. (Every move had been as stealthy and as) sly as a hungry coyote —William Humphrey
26. Smart as a whip —Anon

    Used to the point of abuse since the seventeenth century. A variation in keeping with the phrase’s origin in the smarting pain caused by a whip: “Sharp as a whiplash.”

27. Smart as new nails —Sharon Sheehe Stark
28. Tricky as palmistry —Karl Shapiro
29. Wily as a fox —John Clarke

    The fox continues to be a favorite link to clever, crafty behavior. Often ‘cunning’ is substituted for ‘wiley’, and the fox is not just any fox but “An old one.”