"nice-but-dim" meaning in English

See nice-but-dim in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/ [UK]
Etymology: From nice + but + dim, popularised by the character Tim Nice-But-Dim on Harry Enfield's Television Programme. Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} nice-but-dim (not comparable)
  1. (UK, colloquial) Good-natured, while also being rather unintelligent. Wikipedia link: Harry Enfield's Television Programme Tags: UK, colloquial, not-comparable
    Sense id: en-nice-but-dim-en-adj-fDznqYMH Categories (other): British English, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries
{
  "etymology_text": "From nice + but + dim, popularised by the character Tim Nice-But-Dim on Harry Enfield's Television Programme.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "nice-but-dim (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2001, Andrew Morton, Posh & Becks, page 190:",
          "text": "[…] he was worried that Michael Parkinson might ask him questions with long words that he wouldn't understand, no doubt fearing a resurgence of the “nice-but-dim” taunts that had all too often come his way.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002 July 23, John Crace, The Guardian:",
          "text": "While there was always a touch of the caricature about the Sandhurst cadet as the nice-but-dim public schoolboy, there was also a significant measure of truth.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Joe Studwell, Asian Godfathers, page 169:",
          "text": "The main difference in Hong Kong was that 1997 witnessed a transition from colonial rule to government by tycoon, as the nice-but-dim shipping heir Tung Chee-hwa became the territory's first chief executive.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Good-natured, while also being rather unintelligent."
      ],
      "id": "en-nice-but-dim-en-adj-fDznqYMH",
      "links": [
        [
          "Good-natured",
          "good-natured"
        ],
        [
          "unintelligent",
          "unintelligent"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, colloquial) Good-natured, while also being rather unintelligent."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "colloquial",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Harry Enfield's Television Programme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "nice-but-dim"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "From nice + but + dim, popularised by the character Tim Nice-But-Dim on Harry Enfield's Television Programme.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "nice-but-dim (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English adjectives",
        "English colloquialisms",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncomparable adjectives",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2001, Andrew Morton, Posh & Becks, page 190:",
          "text": "[…] he was worried that Michael Parkinson might ask him questions with long words that he wouldn't understand, no doubt fearing a resurgence of the “nice-but-dim” taunts that had all too often come his way.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002 July 23, John Crace, The Guardian:",
          "text": "While there was always a touch of the caricature about the Sandhurst cadet as the nice-but-dim public schoolboy, there was also a significant measure of truth.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Joe Studwell, Asian Godfathers, page 169:",
          "text": "The main difference in Hong Kong was that 1997 witnessed a transition from colonial rule to government by tycoon, as the nice-but-dim shipping heir Tung Chee-hwa became the territory's first chief executive.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Good-natured, while also being rather unintelligent."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Good-natured",
          "good-natured"
        ],
        [
          "unintelligent",
          "unintelligent"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, colloquial) Good-natured, while also being rather unintelligent."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "colloquial",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Harry Enfield's Television Programme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "nice-but-dim"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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