Definizione monolingua

clever

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

1. Nimble with hands or body; skillful; adept.
   • a. 1898, Francis James Child (collator), Childs Ballads, 198: ""Bonny John Seton"",

     The Highland men, theyre clever men / At handling sword and shield,

2. Resourceful, sometimes to the point of cunning.

   clever like a fox

   • 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 giants lassies. She then put the straw ropes on the giants lassies and the gold on herself and her sisters, and lay down.

3. Smart, intelligent or witty; mentally quick or sharp.
   • 1860, John Timbs, School-Days of Eminent Men, page 177,

     Lord Macaulay^{[Thomas Babington 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 Pilgrims Progress.’”

   • 1912, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (translator), The Brothers Karamazov, Book V, Chapter 7: ""Its 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 dont see that? You know nothing about timber, but youve got an eye.

   • (Can we date this quote?), Charles Kingsley, A Farewell,

     Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever; / Do noble things, not dream them all day long: / And so make life, death, and that vast forever / One grand, sweet song.

4. Showing inventiveness or originality; witty.
   • 1816, Jane Austen, Emma, Volume 1, Chapter 9,

     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.""

   • 1919, William Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, Chapter III,

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

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

     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 Makouns clever pass.

5. (anthropology, of an Aboriginal Australian) Possessing magical abilities.
   • 1904, Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, Vol. XXXVIII, page 255,

     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.

   • 1947, Oceania, Volumes 16-17, page 330,

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

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

     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.

Definizione dizionario clever

	abile
	Agile mentalmente.
	Mentally agile.

intelligente

lesto

sveglio

accorto

acuto

agile

astuto

bravo

capace

destro

esperto

furbo

ingegnoso

saggio

savio

snello

Altri significati:

superficially skillful

possessing magical abilities

showing inventiveness or originality

showing inventiveness or originality.

nimble with hands or body; skillful

resourceful, sometimes to the point of cunning

(Australian Aboriginal) possessing magical abilities

smart, intelligent or witty, in the sense of being mentally quick or sharp

mentally sharp or bright

nimble with hands or body