This is an All Ears English Podcast episode 2334.
What do crayons, tools, and chandeliers have in common?
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Today, our listener asks us about idioms to make a self -deprecating joke that we're not too smart.
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Hey Lindsay, how are you?
Good Michelle, how are you today?
I'm good, do you ever color like with prayons?
Oh, not since I was younger but I do know that adult coloring books had kind of a trend going a few years ago.
So I knew people that were getting them for holidays or birthdays and using them.
I guess it's meditative or relaxing, right?
Yeah, that's the idea.
I got on that trend when it first happened but I think I colored two pages, I don't know.
Well, did it help for you?
Was it relaxing, a way of focusing the mind and resting?
I get the point, yeah, I get the point because you're only focusing on those movements and so it's nice.
The other over Thanksgiving, my sister in love loves to paint as a way to relax and so I never paint with her but then the other day she brought it out and we were just painting together and I thought this is kind of nice.
That's amazing. What a cool thing to be able to go to, right?
Well, she's a good artist.
So, wow. Amazing. Well, I'm excited.
We're getting on into this topic of crayons and it's gonna come out.
Yes, it's gonna sort of in one way or another but we are gonna have a listener question today.
This episode is based on a great listener question.
So, shall I read the question Michelle?
Yes, please do. All right, so our listener Sylvia has asked, hello Lindsay, Michelle, Jessica and Aubrey.
Thank you so much for your podcast and your efforts to teach us in such an entertaining way.
I've been listening to your podcast and watching your videos on YouTube for about three weeks now.
I try to listen to at least five episodes a day so I still have a lot to catch up on.
Well, welcome to our community, Sylvia.
So great, Michelle.
I'm glad you're already sending in a question.
I know, that is such a good sign for this listener.
Guys, make sure you send us your questions.
Send them into support at allersenglish .com.
We'll get them on our list and if it's a good question, we'll answer it and read your name out loud on the show.
Okay? All right, I love it.
All right, I have a question about an idiom.
I'm not the brightest candle on the chandelier.
I know there are variations, different variations of this expression.
We use similar ones in German and Hungarian.
English is my third language.
In Hungarian, for example, we say not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
What variations exist in English and how commonly are they used?
Also, is this expression considered offensive or can it be taken with a wink and a smile?
Thank you so much for your hard work and I wish you all the best moving forward.
Best regards, Sylvia.
Lovely, lovely, Michelle.
It's such a great and fun question.
I was very excited to plan this one.
So thank you so much.
So this is interesting.
So I think the main part of the question is at the end because we need to talk about this for sure.
Sylvia asks, is this expression considered offensive or can it be taken with a wink and a smile?
So we're definitely gonna talk about what the feeling is behind these types of expressions.
But before we do that, we wanna remind you guys to hit the follow button so you never miss anything from us.
Exactly. We have a lot of old episodes, past episodes, but we come out with five new episodes a week.
And so stay up to date with our newest episodes, everyone.
Go ahead and hit that follow button so you can make All There's English a part of your day.
That's the key. That's how we get better, right?
Yes, exactly, yes. All right, so what do you think?
Is this offensive? I mean, I think Michelle essentially, yes.
It's extremely offensive because you're saying that you're not smart, right?
First of all, it depends on who we're saying it about.
Are we saying it about ourselves?
In that case, it can be okay.
It can be acceptable.
It's the self -deprecating way of connecting, really, connecting with others.
Now, if you go and say it about someone else, there are shades of gray there too.
There are nuances, right, Michelle?
Right. We wanna be careful.
It could be offensive, yeah.
It could very well be offensive.
You would have to be using it with somebody you know pretty well.
Very well, yeah. And in a very kind of funny way, right?
Not seriously insulting them.
So that's - Oh, yeah.
Yeah, so that's basically what I would say.
But so let's get into it more.
So Sylvia says, I'm not the brightest candle on the chandelier is the example.
Have you heard that one?
That one, I don't think I've heard it in that exact way with those exact words.
I mean, we're saying the same thing across different cultures here, right?
They're just variations of the same idiom, but I don't think we use that one, Michelle.
Do you think we do?
I don't hear this one as often.
When I was researching for the episode, I found it, but to me it's not one of the more common ones that we use.
So we're gonna talk about some of the common ones today.
So the idea, let's talk about kind of the structure of this.
It's I'm not the, or someone is not the, something is, so an adjective ist.
Noun in the noun. Noun in the noun.
I'm not the something noun in the noun, yes.
There's the breakdown.
Right, okay, but we'll give a lot of examples.
So you're saying something that comes in something else, so or something that is on something else, like I guess the chandelier.
So, I mean, the biggest one that I think about is this, what we talked about with the crayon.
Lindsay, is that a common, can you say what that one is?
Yeah, so this is I'm not the brightest crayon in the box.
Yeah, so essentially, I mean, technically you could even make up your own, which would be really clever, right?
You could make up, you could, I mean, if you want to be really creative with language, you could make up your own idiom in this context, as long as you understand the formula, right?
Right, right, exactly.
So I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, noun in the noun.
Right, and that one's interesting because that's kind of a double play on words because we also use the word bright to refer to intelligence, right?
So you're saying I'm not the brightest color crayon in the box, but I'm also not the smartest.
So that's one of those extra special, yes.
Yeah, that's true, that's a good point.
So, yeah, if you, you know, if you use this on its own, it means you're not that smart.
Okay, yes. So what can be okay is if you use it by itself or if you use it just with something else.
So let me explain what I mean.
I'm not the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to technology.
So you can be specific, right?
So if you add when it comes to, that can be a good way to be specific.
You're not just saying I'm not bright.
You're just saying, this isn't something that I know a lot about.
Yeah, we would recommend that, exactly.
And it builds nuance to what you're saying.
It builds context. It makes people wanna ask you a question.
Well, maybe you're really into art if you're not into technology, right?
It just gives people more to work with, more to respond to.
Okay. So let's do some of the other ones.
These are some of the other ones I've heard, Lindsey.
And if you use them or not, we can talk through them.
So what's the first one?
All right, not the sharpest tool in the shed.
I think this one is the one I've heard the most.
Yeah. I think this might also be on a song from the nineties if I'm not forgetting.
Yeah, I think so. But anyways, what's the next one, Michelle?
Okay, not the sharpest tool in the shed.
And now there's, I found this one, not the sharpest pencil in the cup.
Okay. And also sharp, sharp is also a play.
You're right because, right.
We could do another episode, a followup episode here, Michelle, on ways to say intelligent, bright, sharp.
There's a lot, I mean, we are a culture that hyper values intelligence, right?
Hyper values, conceptual cerebral intelligence, book smarts.
And so we have a lot of words for that.
For sure. Yeah, that would be a fun one.
Different ways to say smart.
Interesting. Okay, and then there's also not the brightest bulb in the box so that goes back to bright.
Interesting. So I wonder if we advise our listeners to make up their own.
I wonder if we have to use that double play on words when it comes to this idiom.
Something has to be about like, so if it's lights and things being sharp or not, basically.
Yeah, for, yes. Yeah.
But there's a one about an elevator too that kind of breaks the mold.
Yes, this is a different one.
And there are a lot of ones like this as well.
I could do a whole other episode, but it's so mean spirit, I feel bad even say.
Oh, what is it? Well, should I say it or?
Sure, go for it. Okay, my elevator doesn't go all the way to the top.
All right. I hope people aren't going to isolate this, Lindsay.
And then play it one day with AI and you're just saying my elevator.
No, well, who knows?
It probably will happen.
But you know what? I have a fun one that my dad used to use all the time.
He used to say, you're not playing with a full deck.
Do you know that? Ah, yes, yes, yes.
That's a fun one. That's a fun one.
And, you know, sometimes we learn language from our family members, you know, what they used to say.
So, yeah. And what do these mean?
I mean, you're not playing with a full deck.
What does that mean?
You're just not, something's missing, right?
Something's missing.
And so, yeah. But Michelle, overall, we think these are definitely offensive if they're used in the wrong way.
So be super careful.
What else? They could be insulting someone's intelligence, but of course context is king.
And it's just good to consider why you might hear this or who it is okay to hear it from or say it too.
So we're going to do some more examples after we break.
Okay, Michelle, back for more examples.
So would you like to give us the first one here?
Sure. Ah, I keep forgetting what our password is.
Seriously, I feel like I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes.
Yeah, and here you're also qualifying it.
You're saying sometimes.
Right. It's giving more context.
It's situational. Or I've known you since third grade.
You're not the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to football rules.
Yeah, that's probably me.
When it comes to football rules.
I don't know any rules of football.
Oh, I'm horrible. Yeah.
But Lindsay, what's the point of our students learning this if it's a bit mean spirited?
I think it can be certainly useful when it comes to self -deprecating humor, right?
So you have permission to say this about yourself.
If you feel like you want to, I wouldn't recommend saying it broadly about yourself.
Overall, I'd give it the scenarios that we talked about, about football rules or technology or certain interesting aspects of life that you can say you're not very good at, right?
Mm -hmm. Yeah. Yeah, right, exactly.
So just be careful, that's all.
So the rules are you can use it for self -deprecating humor, but not in a situation you don't want to put yourself down too much or somebody you're very close with and you're kind of teasing them.
Exactly. If you stick with those, you're pretty safe.
Yeah, no. So I showed the example of what my dad used to say to me.
You know, that's a very close family member, right?
I'm teasing you, that's that example.
So we want to really make sure we stay within these rules and then we'll probably be okay, all right?
Good. All right, let's do a role play.
All right, so here we are best friends and we're trying to fix your phone.
Oh, geez, okay. Oh my gosh, how did you break the screen again?
I know, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, am I?
Certainly not when it comes to phones.
Okay, so can we take this piece out?
We can try. Oh man, you know I'm not the brightest crayon on the box with technology.
Yeah, your elevator doesn't go all the way to the top.
I'm trying to help you.
Oh geez, okay. So yeah, I mean, close friends, they banter, right?
Especially when they know it's not gonna be hurtful because they know the person.
It's a special level of connection that you have, right?
When you reach that place with somebody where you're kind of just going back and forth, teasing each other, you're really in a good spot.
You've really become kind of close to that person.
Yeah, you got it, exactly.
So, okay Michelle, what did you say first?
All right, so I said, I know, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, am I?
And then I said, oh man, you know, I'm not the brightest crayon on the box with technology and I gave a little specific scenario that I'm not good at, right?
And then I said, yeah, your elevator doesn't go all the way to the top.
Now you're really teasing me and I'm pushing back.
I'm saying, hey, you know, I'm trying to help you.
Why are you teasing me?
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So we're having a good time.
Yeah. All right, Michelle, what's another episode our listeners could go to right away?
To keep listening. All right, so head on over to episode 2315 that was who asked you, rude phrases to avoid in English.
Yes, love it. Any takeaway today where we should leave our listeners?
Well, you know, I wonder how much this exists in other languages.
I'm very curious if this is a very common way to describe people not being that smart about something.
So that to me is, I'm curious, write to us, let us know if it's common in your language to say something like this.
And then also the takeaway is, try using this with a close friend.
I think that would be fun.
You gotta use it in a certain fun way and about something very lighthearted.
Exactly. If you have that vibe with a friend where this makes sense, you already tease each other a lot, drop this in, give it a try, see how it goes.
Follow the rules that we've laid out, close friends, family members, or self -deprecating, try it that way.
Don't be mean to people.
I mean, don't use this in a mean, a weaponized way, right?
Don't like use it with your boss or something like that, like a vehicle.
All right, great stuff.
Michelle, you have a good day.
I'll talk to you soon.
All right, bye. Bye.
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