Not playing with a full deck
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
Supposedly not thinking rationally or intelligently; used as a dismissive judgment about someone's ideas or behaviour. Informal and derogatory. It disparages intelligence or mental health, so it is unsuitable for professional assessment or discussion of an actual condition. Regional use: Chiefly United States and Canada.
Origin
This chiefly American expression turns a complete pack of playing cards into a metaphor for a complete set of mental faculties. The earliest example located by phrase researcher Gary Martin is in a 1965 George Carlin routine; that is evidence that the expression was in use, not proof that Carlin coined it. It belongs to a later family of missing-part insults such as a few cards short of a full deck. The story that people removed one card from packs to avoid an English playing-card tax is unsupported and predates the documented idiom by centuries.
Research Sources
Variants
- A few cards short of a full deck
Usage Examples
- Anyone who signs that blank contract is not playing with a full deck, in Marta's opinion.
- The columnist implied that the candidate was not playing with a full deck.
- Calling a colleague not playing with a full deck is an insult, not an argument against the proposal.