clever

My dad is quite clever with his hands, especially at carpentry.

a. 1898, Francis James Child (collator), Child's Ballads, 198: "Bonny John Seton",
The Highland men, they're clever men
At handling sword and shield,

Nimble with hands or body; skillful; adept.

Quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas; intelligent.

clever like a fox

With a clever lawyer, she could easily be acquitted.

1890, Joseph Jacobs (collator), Molly Whuppie, English Fairy Tales,
The youngest of the three strange lassies was called Molly Whuppie, and she was very clever. She noticed that before they went to bed the giant put straw ropes round her neck and her sisters', and round his own lassies' necks, he put gold chains. So Molly took care and did not fall asleep, but waited till she was sure every one was sleeping sound. Then she slipped out of the bed, and took the straw ropes off her own and her sisters' necks, and took the gold chains off the giant's lassies. She then put the straw ropes on the giant's lassies and the gold on herself and her sisters, and lay down.

Mentally quick and resourceful; skilled at achieving what one wants in a mentally agile and inventive way.

And so make life, death, and that vast forever / One grand, sweet song.

19th c, Charles Kingsley, A Farewell, Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever; Do noble things, not dream them all day long

Lord Macaulay has said of Bunyan: “though there were many clever men in England during the latter half of the seventeenth century, there were only two great creative minds. One of these minds produced ‘The Paradise Lost;’ the other, ‘The Pilgrim's Progress.’”

1860, John Timbs, School-Days of Eminent Men, page 177:

1912, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (translator), The Brothers Karamazov, Book V, Chapter 7: "It's Always Worth While Speaking to a Clever Man",
I would have sent Alyosha, but what use is Alyosha in a thing like that? I send you just because you are a clever fellow. Do you suppose I don't see that? You know nothing about timber, but you've got an eye.

Smart, intelligent, or witty; mentally quick or sharp.

He was not clever, poor fellow, he did not know what questions to ask; he asked the same questions again and again. He continued to show his own troubled thoughts, and the vague dread in his mind, […]

1892, Margaret Oliphant, The Heir Presumptive and the Heir Apparent, page 263:

This is a simple but clever trick to solve the problem.

Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.

2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:

(of objects or actions) Showing mental quickness and resourcefulness.

Mr. Woodhouse was almost as much interested in the business as the girls, and tried very often to recollect something worth their putting in. "So many clever riddles as there used to be when he was young--he wondered he could not remember them! but he hoped he should in time." And it always ended in "Kitty, a fair but frozen maid."

1816, Jane Austen, chapter 9, in Emma, volume 1:

I felt they expected me to say clever things, and I never could think of any till after the party was over.

1919, William Somerset Maugham, chapter III, in The Moon and Sixpence:

Just before the break Villa were denied a second goal when Bent had the ball in the net, although he was ruled offside after Jean Makoun's clever pass.

2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:

The Rosenbloom Loop is a clever little device, but it’s an even more clever symbol of the role that discipline plays in the creation of illusion: the persistence of vision that makes sequential still images appear to move.

2014 April 11, Ron Charles, “David Grand’s ‘Mount Terminus’”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 18, page 37:

(of objects or actions) Showing inventiveness or originality; witty.

But at that moment I knew it was all over for me, I had never thought that this day would come, but it had and I was not feeling too clever. In fact I had to escape to a nearby toilet to be sick.

2010, Colin Ross, Death of the Docks, page 196:

Right, and no, because the solicitor has told her that Walter's legs didn't look too clever, which, apparently, everyone's putting down to a fall, thankfully.

2019, Neil Forsyth, 30:07 from the start, in Guilt, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Jake McCall (Jamie Sives):

(UK, colloquial, chiefly in the negative) Fit and healthy; free from fatigue or illness.

When a clever man is out hunting and comes across the tracks of, say, a kangaroo, he follows them along and talks to the footprints all the time for the purpose of injecting magic into the animal which made them.

1904, Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, volume XXXVIII, page 255:

Prior to this, the two women, who were “clever,” and possessed a certain amount of magical “power,”[…].

1947, Oceania,, volumes 16-17, page 330:

Fred is the clever fellow or tribal doctor who practises with the Kuku-Yalanji people. The tribal doctor’s work includes curing sickness, finding out the causes of death, predicting the future and making and stopping rain.

1991, John & Sue Erbacher, Aborigines of the Rainforest:

(anthropology, of an Aboriginal Australian) Possessing magical abilities.

18th c, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope (later lines), Imitation of Horace, 1852, Charles Knight (collator), Half-hours with the Best Authors, Volume 4, page 188,
I can't but think 'twould sound more clever,
To me and to my heirs forever.

(obsolete) Fit; suitable; having propriety.

Tho' the Girl vvas a tight, clever VVench as any vvas, and thro' her pale Looks, you might diſcern Spirit and Vivacity, vvhich made her not indeed a perfect Beauty, but ſomething that vvas agreeable.

1712, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], “The Character of John Bull’s Sister Peg, with the Quarrels that Happen’d between Master and Miss, in Their Childhood”, in John Bull Still in His Senses: Being the Third Part of Law is a Bottomless-Pit. […], London: […] John Morphew, […], →OCLC, page 10:

en-adj

clever (comparative cleverer or more clever, superlative cleverest or most clever)

cleverer (comparative)
more clever (comparative)
cleverest (superlative)
most clever (superlative)

dull

antonym(s) of “smart, intelligent or witty”

ineffectual

antonym(s) of “resourceful, perhaps cunning”

→ German: clever

→ Limburgish: klevver

trapella

resourceful, sometimes to the point of cunning

изобретателен

things showing inventiveness or originality

From East Anglian dialectal English cliver (“expert at seizing”), from Middle English cliver (“tenacious”).
* perhaps from Old English *clifer, clibbor (“clinging”);
* or perhaps from Dutch, Low German, or East/Saterland Frisian (compare kluftich (“clever, prudent”), probably derived from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban (“to cleave, split”));
* or dialectal Norwegian klover (“ready, skillful”), itself borrowed from Middle Low German klever, related to kleven (“to stick”), from Old Saxon klibōn, from Proto-West Germanic *klibēn, related to the Old English word above;
* possibly influenced by Old English clifer (“claw, hand”) (compare clawian (“to claw”)).
Related to cleave. Perhaps influenced by Welsh celfydd (“talented, dexterous, expert”).


clever

de-adj

clever (strong nominative masculine singular cleverer, comparative cleverer or clevrer, superlative am cleversten)

cleverer (masculine nominative singular strong)
cleverer (comparative)
clevrer (comparative)
am cleversten (superlative)
clever (masculine predicative singular)
clever (feminine predicative singular)
clever (neuter predicative singular)
clever (plural predicative)
cleverer (masculine nominative singular strong without-article)
clevere (feminine nominative singular strong without-article)
cleveres (neuter nominative singular strong without-article)
clevere (nominative plural strong without-article)
cleveren (genitive masculine singular strong without-article)
cleverer (feminine genitive singular strong without-article)
cleveren (genitive neuter singular strong without-article)
cleverer (genitive plural strong without-article)
cleverem (dative masculine singular strong without-article)
cleverer (dative feminine singular strong without-article)
cleverem (dative neuter singular strong without-article)
cleveren (dative plural strong without-article)
cleveren (accusative masculine singular strong without-article)
clevere (accusative feminine singular strong without-article)
cleveres (accusative neuter singular strong without-article)
clevere (accusative plural strong without-article)
der clevere (definite includes-article masculine nominative singular weak)
die clevere (definite feminine includes-article nominative singular weak)
das clevere (definite includes-article neuter nominative singular weak)
die cleveren (definite includes-article nominative plural weak)
des cleveren (definite genitive includes-article masculine singular weak)
der cleveren (definite feminine genitive includes-article singular weak)
des cleveren (definite genitive includes-article neuter singular weak)
der cleveren (definite genitive includes-article plural weak)
dem cleveren (dative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
der cleveren (dative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
dem cleveren (dative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
den cleveren (dative definite includes-article plural weak)
den cleveren (accusative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
die clevere (accusative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
das clevere (accusative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
die cleveren (accusative definite includes-article plural weak)
ein cleverer (includes-article indefinite masculine mixed nominative singular)
eine clevere (feminine includes-article indefinite mixed nominative singular)
ein cleveres (includes-article indefinite mixed neuter nominative singular)
cleveren (indefinite mixed nominative plural)
keine cleveren (includes-article indefinite mixed negative nominative plural)
eines cleveren (genitive includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einer cleveren (feminine genitive includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
eines cleveren (genitive includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
cleveren (genitive indefinite mixed plural)
keiner cleveren (genitive includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural)
einem cleveren (dative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einer cleveren (dative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
einem cleveren (dative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
cleveren (dative indefinite mixed plural)
keinen cleveren (dative includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural)
einen cleveren (accusative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
eine clevere (accusative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
ein cleveres (accusative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
cleveren (accusative indefinite mixed plural)
keine cleveren (accusative includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural)
cleverer (comparative masculine predicative singular)
clevrer (comparative masculine predicative singular)
cleverer (comparative feminine predicative singular)
clevrer (comparative feminine predicative singular)
cleverer (comparative neuter predicative singular)
clevrer (comparative neuter predicative singular)
cleverer (comparative plural predicative)
clevrer (comparative plural predicative)
clevererer (comparative masculine nominative singular strong without-article)
clevrerer (comparative masculine nominative singular strong without-article)
cleverere (comparative feminine nominative singular strong without-article)
clevrere (comparative feminine nominative singular strong without-article)
clevereres (comparative neuter nominative singular strong without-article)
clevreres (comparative neuter nominative singular strong without-article)
cleverere (comparative nominative plural strong without-article)
clevrere (comparative nominative plural strong without-article)
clevereren (comparative genitive masculine singular strong without-article)
clevreren (comparative genitive masculine singular strong without-article)
clevererer (comparative feminine genitive singular strong without-article)
clevrerer (comparative feminine genitive singular strong without-article)
clevereren (comparative genitive neuter singular strong without-article)
clevreren (comparative genitive neuter singular strong without-article)
clevererer (comparative genitive plural strong without-article)
clevrerer (comparative genitive plural strong without-article)
clevererem (comparative dative masculine singular strong without-article)
clevrerem (comparative dative masculine singular strong without-article)
clevererer (comparative dative feminine singular strong without-article)
clevrerer (comparative dative feminine singular strong without-article)
clevererem (comparative dative neuter singular strong without-article)
clevrerem (comparative dative neuter singular strong without-article)
clevereren (comparative dative plural strong without-article)
clevreren (comparative dative plural strong without-article)
clevereren (accusative comparative masculine singular strong without-article)
clevreren (accusative comparative masculine singular strong without-article)
cleverere (accusative comparative feminine singular strong without-article)
clevrere (accusative comparative feminine singular strong without-article)
clevereres (accusative comparative neuter singular strong without-article)
clevreres (accusative comparative neuter singular strong without-article)
cleverere (accusative comparative plural strong without-article)
clevrere (accusative comparative plural strong without-article)
der cleverere (comparative definite includes-article masculine nominative singular weak)
der clevrere (comparative definite includes-article masculine nominative singular weak)
die cleverere (comparative definite feminine includes-article nominative singular weak)
die clevrere (comparative definite feminine includes-article nominative singular weak)
das cleverere (comparative definite includes-article neuter nominative singular weak)
das clevrere (comparative definite includes-article neuter nominative singular weak)
die clevereren (comparative definite includes-article nominative plural weak)
die clevreren (comparative definite includes-article nominative plural weak)
des clevereren (comparative definite genitive includes-article masculine singular weak)
des clevreren (comparative definite genitive includes-article masculine singular weak)
der clevereren (comparative definite feminine genitive includes-article singular weak)
der clevreren (comparative definite feminine genitive includes-article singular weak)
des clevereren (comparative definite genitive includes-article neuter singular weak)
des clevreren (comparative definite genitive includes-article neuter singular weak)
der clevereren (comparative definite genitive includes-article plural weak)
der clevreren (comparative definite genitive includes-article plural weak)
dem clevereren (comparative dative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
dem clevreren (comparative dative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
der clevereren (comparative dative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
der clevreren (comparative dative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
dem clevereren (comparative dative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
dem clevreren (comparative dative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
den clevereren (comparative dative definite includes-article plural weak)
den clevreren (comparative dative definite includes-article plural weak)
den clevereren (accusative comparative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
den clevreren (accusative comparative definite includes-article masculine singular weak)
die cleverere (accusative comparative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
die clevrere (accusative comparative definite feminine includes-article singular weak)
das cleverere (accusative comparative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
das clevrere (accusative comparative definite includes-article neuter singular weak)
die clevereren (accusative comparative definite includes-article plural weak)
die clevreren (accusative comparative definite includes-article plural weak)
ein clevererer (comparative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed nominative singular)
ein clevrerer (comparative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed nominative singular)
eine cleverere (comparative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed nominative singular)
eine clevrere (comparative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed nominative singular)
ein clevereres (comparative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter nominative singular)
ein clevreres (comparative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter nominative singular)
clevereren (comparative indefinite mixed nominative plural)
keine clevereren (comparative includes-article indefinite mixed negative nominative plural)
clevreren (comparative indefinite mixed nominative plural)
keine clevreren (comparative includes-article indefinite mixed negative nominative plural)
eines clevereren (comparative genitive includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
eines clevreren (comparative genitive includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einer clevereren (comparative feminine genitive includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
einer clevreren (comparative feminine genitive includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
eines clevereren (comparative genitive includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
eines clevreren (comparative genitive includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
clevereren (comparative genitive indefinite mixed plural)
keiner clevereren (comparative genitive includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural)
clevreren (comparative genitive indefinite mixed plural)
keiner clevreren (comparative genitive includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural)
einem clevereren (comparative dative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einem clevreren (comparative dative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einer clevereren (comparative dative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
einer clevreren (comparative dative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
einem clevereren (comparative dative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
einem clevreren (comparative dative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
clevereren (comparative dative indefinite mixed plural)
keinen clevereren (comparative dative includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural)
clevreren (comparative dative indefinite mixed plural)
keinen clevreren (comparative dative includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural)
einen clevereren (accusative comparative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
einen clevreren (accusative comparative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular)
eine cleverere (accusative comparative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
eine clevrere (accusative comparative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular)
ein clevereres (accusative comparative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
ein clevreres (accusative comparative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular)
clevereren (accusative comparative indefinite mixed plural)
keine clevereren (accusative comparative includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural)
clevreren (accusative comparative indefinite mixed plural)
keine clevreren (accusative comparative includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural)
am cleversten (masculine predicative singular superlative)
am cleversten (feminine predicative singular superlative)
am cleversten (neuter predicative singular superlative)
am cleversten (plural predicative superlative)
cleverster (masculine nominative singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverste (feminine nominative singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverstes (neuter nominative singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverste (nominative plural strong superlative without-article)
cleversten (genitive masculine singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverster (feminine genitive singular strong superlative without-article)
cleversten (genitive neuter singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverster (genitive plural strong superlative without-article)
cleverstem (dative masculine singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverster (dative feminine singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverstem (dative neuter singular strong superlative without-article)
cleversten (dative plural strong superlative without-article)
cleversten (accusative masculine singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverste (accusative feminine singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverstes (accusative neuter singular strong superlative without-article)
cleverste (accusative plural strong superlative without-article)
der cleverste (definite includes-article masculine nominative singular superlative weak)
die cleverste (definite feminine includes-article nominative singular superlative weak)
das cleverste (definite includes-article neuter nominative singular superlative weak)
die cleversten (definite includes-article nominative plural superlative weak)
des cleversten (definite genitive includes-article masculine singular superlative weak)
der cleversten (definite feminine genitive includes-article singular superlative weak)
des cleversten (definite genitive includes-article neuter singular superlative weak)
der cleversten (definite genitive includes-article plural superlative weak)
dem cleversten (dative definite includes-article masculine singular superlative weak)
der cleversten (dative definite feminine includes-article singular superlative weak)
dem cleversten (dative definite includes-article neuter singular superlative weak)
den cleversten (dative definite includes-article plural superlative weak)
den cleversten (accusative definite includes-article masculine singular superlative weak)
die cleverste (accusative definite feminine includes-article singular superlative weak)
das cleverste (accusative definite includes-article neuter singular superlative weak)
die cleversten (accusative definite includes-article plural superlative weak)
ein cleverster (includes-article indefinite masculine mixed nominative singular superlative)
eine cleverste (feminine includes-article indefinite mixed nominative singular superlative)
ein cleverstes (includes-article indefinite mixed neuter nominative singular superlative)
cleversten (indefinite mixed nominative plural superlative)
keine cleversten (includes-article indefinite mixed negative nominative plural superlative)
eines cleversten (genitive includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular superlative)
einer cleversten (feminine genitive includes-article indefinite mixed singular superlative)
eines cleversten (genitive includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular superlative)
cleversten (genitive indefinite mixed plural superlative)
keiner cleversten (genitive includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural superlative)
einem cleversten (dative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular superlative)
einer cleversten (dative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular superlative)
einem cleversten (dative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular superlative)
cleversten (dative indefinite mixed plural superlative)
keinen cleversten (dative includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural superlative)
einen cleversten (accusative includes-article indefinite masculine mixed singular superlative)
eine cleverste (accusative feminine includes-article indefinite mixed singular superlative)
ein cleverstes (accusative includes-article indefinite mixed neuter singular superlative)
cleversten (accusative indefinite mixed plural superlative)
keine cleversten (accusative includes-article indefinite mixed negative plural superlative)