he's too clever by half
11clever — [[t]kle̱və(r)[/t]] ♦♦♦ cleverer, cleverest 1) ADJ GRADED Someone who is clever is intelligent and able to understand things easily or plan things well. He s a very clever man... My sister was always a lot cleverer than I was... Her mother was… …
12clever */*/ — UK [ˈklevə(r)] / US [ˈklevər] adjective Word forms clever : adjective clever comparative cleverer superlative cleverest 1) good at learning or understanding things Tony was a charming and clever man. I d like to be a doctor but I m not clever… …
13clever — clev|er S2 [ˈklevə US ər] adj [Date: 1200 1300; Origin: Probably from a Scandinavian language] 1.) especially BrE able to learn and understand things quickly = ↑intelligent American Equivalent: smart ▪ a clever man very/extremely/quite/pretty etc …
14half — n., adj., & adv. n. (pl. halves) 1 either of two equal or corresponding parts or groups into which a thing is or might be divided. 2 colloq. = half back. 3 colloq. half a pint, esp. of beer etc. 4 either of two equal periods of play in sports. 5… …
15clever — adjective 1 especially BrE able to learn and understand things quickly; intelligent: a clever student | You tied your shoes up yourself? What a clever girl! 2 able to use your intelligence to get what you want, especially in a slightly dishonest… …
16half — /haf / (say hahf) noun (plural halves /havz / (say hahvz)) 1. one of the two equal (or approximately equal) parts into which anything is or may be divided. 2. Sport either of the two periods of a game. 3. Rugby Football a. → halfback …
17clever — Occasionally used on its own as a term of address, and likely to be sarcastic. An example occurs in Daughters of Mulberry, by Roger Longrigg. There is another in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. While the first of these is almost an… …
18clever — adjective (cleverer, cleverest) 1》 quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas. ↘skilful; adroit. 2》 [with negative] Brit. informal healthy or well: I didn t feel too clever. Phrases too clever by half informal annoyingly proud of… …
19half — [ hæf ] (plural halves [ hævz ] ) function word, quantifier *** Half can be used in the following ways: as a predeterminer (followed by a word such as a, the, this, or his ): We live half a mile up the road. I have to spend half my time taking… …
20half — half1 W1S1 [ha:f US hæf] predeterminer, pron, adj [only before noun] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(50%)¦ 2¦(most of)¦ 3¦(time)¦ 4¦(combination)¦ 5 half a dozen 6 half a/the chance 7 half an eye/ear 8 be half the battle 9 half a minute/moment/second etc …
