a few fries short of a Happy Meal



a few fries short of a Happy Meal

A pejorative phrase meaning not very intelligent or of questionable mental capacity. It can appear in many different forms and variations (for example: a few bricks shy of a load, a few cards shy of a full deck, etc.). Every time Paul tells me about his latest conspiracy theory, I can't help thinking that he's a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
See also: few, fries, happy, meal, of, short

a few fries short of a Happy Meal

not very intelligent I could tell he was a few fries short of a Happy Meal, but unfortunately you can't arrest someone for being stupid.
Usage notes: this idiom appears in many different forms, including a few cards short of a full deck, a few bricks short of a full load, a few clowns short of a circus, and a few Cokes short of a six-pack, all with the same meaning
See also: few, fries, happy, meal, of, short

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
&Thorn;ÓRgeirr-Ancient Scandinavian
Anya-Russian
Dotty['dɔti]
Kamilakah-MI-lah (Czech, Slovak), kah-MEE-lah (Polish)Czech, Slovak, Polish
ClausKLOWSGerman, Danish
GustafGOO-stahf (German)Swedish, German