You know those nasty but rather funny expressions used to say, without actually saying it, that someone isn’t that exceptional?
– Well, he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer…
– Of course, he’s not the penguin who slides the furthest!
Tonight, with the boys, we discussed the very particular structure of these expressions: the “He’s not”, followed by a noun, a preposition “who” or “that”.
And of course, between the cheese and dessert, it ended up in a competition for the best original creation. Here are our suggestions:
- “He’s not the strongest trainer in the arena”, reference to Pokémon, but it also works by replacing “trainer” by par “blader” (for Beyblade)
- “He’s not the oven that heats up the most”
- “He’s not the guitar that sounds best”
- “He’s not the grape that makes the best wine”
- “He’s not the sweetest candy in the packet”
- “He’s not the plumber who breaks the most bricks”, here we go!
- “He’s not the hedgehog with the most spikes” or “He’s not the hedgehog with with most rings” (a reference to Sonic)
- “He’s not the marble that rolls the furthest”
- “He’s not the elephant with the biggest ears”
- “He’s not the computer that calculates the fastest”
- “He’s not the crunchiest M&M’s in the pack”
We have also received suggestions on social networks:
- “He’s not the most oxygenated trout in the river”
- “He’s not the pebble that makes the most ricochets”
- “He’s not the brightest candle on the stick”
- “He’s not the sharpest arrow in the quiver”
- “He’s not the closest electron to the nucleus” (this one, you need a certain level of skill)
Special mention to:
- “He is not the least scandal-ridden minister”, which shows that we have set the bar very low in our political ideals.