What it means
A light, teasing way to say someone's a bit daft, not fully switched on, or missing some common sense. The image is simple: if a deck's missing cards, it isn't complete. Usually said with a grin, not full-on nasty.
Usage examples
"Lovely fella, but a few cards short of a deck, he watered the plastic plants for a month."
"Bless him, he is a few cards short of a deck, but his heart is in the right place."
"Anyone who paints a fence in the rain is a few cards short of a deck."
"He's a few cards short of a deck if he thought the satnav meant drive into the lake."
"My cousin's a few cards short of a deck, bless him, tried to charge his phone in the microwave."
Where it comes from
This belongs to a big family of English jokey put-downs built on something being incomplete, with the sense recorded in the late 20th century. The card deck image does the heavy lifting: if a few cards are missing, the pack isn't working properly. It's closely related to not playing with a full deck.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
Your vote counts
Is this real street talk or have we lost the plot? Cast your vote.
We look after this expression together
If they say it where you live and something is missing here, bring it. A magikito looks at it and adds it.
- An example
- Your patch
- Your voice