Meaning
Not very intelligent, sensible or fully aware of what is happening. Derogatory and potentially ableist when applied to a person. The variants are related Australian shortage idioms rather than exact grammatical substitutions. Regional use: Australia.
Origin
Quid is a long-standing informal word for a pound, formerly a pound note or coin in the relevant Australian imagery. The phrase treats sound judgement as a complete monetary amount and suggests that something is missing. It belongs to a large Australian family of shortage comparisons, but an exact first coinage has not been securely identified.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- A few bob short of a quid
- A few roos loose in the top paddock
- A sandwich short of a picnic
- Not the full bottle
Usage Examples
- Anyone who feeds a wild crocodile is not the full quid.
- The neighbours thought the inventor was a few bob short of a quid until his machine worked.