What it means
A gentle way of saying someone isn't quite all there upstairs, missing a bit of common sense or sharpness. It's usually fond teasing rather than an insult, the picture of a card deck that can't make a full game.
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."
Where it comes from
Builds on the image of a card deck that is missing a few cards, so it can never be complete. Said gently of someone who seems a little daft or not quite all there, the same family as a sandwich short of a picnic.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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