So, this question came about because I’ve been watching lots of Doctor Who/Sherlock/Torchwood lately, and I want to confirm what seems to be a slightly different connotation to the word “clever” in British English.
In the US, “clever” has a specific connotation of “(unexpectedly)good at figuring things out,” which is different and lesser than “intelligent” or “smart”. It’s not used very often at all, and would be more likely used to describe a child than an adult. It’s a kind of compliment, but it’s also kind of damning with faint praise.
However, it seems to be used as a more positive thing in British English - the Doctor repeatedly refers to himself as clever (whereas in America he’d say he was smart, “clever” would never be used about oneself). Have I read that right?
On a side note - does “smart” usually have the connotation of “smart-assed” or “cheeky” over there, instead of just “intelligent”?
Huh. I’m american born and bred and clever has never seemed lesser than intelligent or smart. It’s a different descriptor. Someone can be incredibly intelligent but not clever at all. Usually, clever people are pretty smart, though. A clever person might be exceptionally wily or they may be adept at wordplay or particularly innovative. There’s often a seat-of-the-pants aspect to it.
“Smart” isn’t really used that commonly in Britain in the sense of “clever”; it usually means “well-dressed”, or (of an object) “nice-looking”, as in “That’s a smart pair of shoes.” The “clever” usage strikes me as something of an Americanism.
Brit here.
It can and is used interchangeably with intelligent, but I would say has slightly more implication of social or practical smarts than intelligent (which is used more often to refer to academic ability).
btw Smart meaning clever seems relatively common around these parts (South east)
American here. To me, clever has a hint of sneaky or bending the rules to it. Just a hint, though. Smart or intelligent are more straightforwardly complimentary.
“Clever” just isn’t used that often in contemporary American English. (Of course we understand it & nobody should avoid using the word!)
The main thing is that in UK English, “clever” is used where we would say “smart.” Over there, “smart” means fashionable or well turned-out; often, anything but US!smart…
From Ford Madox Ford’s Some Do Not… (1924), in which the brilliant Tietjens, “the last Tory,” rejects a dinner invitation…
Clever can refer to anyone who is intelligent or has a particular skill (“Have you seen his paintings? Very clever”).
For the record, however, the Doctor is being very un-British remarking on his own intelligence at all. A Brit would not describe themselves as clever or smart, that’s far too boastful.
Nope. Intelligent or well-dressed, but not cheeky. You could use ‘smart’ to suggest paying attention or being quick… ‘Look smart, teachers coming’…although that seems rather dated.
The (rather dated) British equivalent of a “smart-ass” is a “clever dick”. We do also use “smart-arse” though, as “clever dick” has rather gone out of fashion for whatever reason…
American here. To me clever refers to the ability to figure things out and/or problem solve. It’s a part of intelligence, but it can be independent of book smarts. So if someone had the ability to figure out the operation of something through observation, or figure out unique solutions to problems on the fly, then I’d describe them as clever.
In a few Sondheim songs he refers to himself as “clever” . . . i.e. he refers to people calling him “clever.” Like he might refer to critics as telling him “not to be so clever.”
Arguably, clever and intelligent may refer to the same thing, which is not the same thing as book smarts. A comparison was made one time on The Simpsons between Bart and Milhouse. Milhouse has book smarts. Bart can use book smarts to accomplish what he wants.
Canadian here. To me, clever has a connotation of exploiting or circumventing the rules, but in an admirable way. It often refers to sudden insight rather than deliberate, preplanned rules-lawyering.
Crafty, on the other hand, seems to mean “smart, in a bad way”. It seems to typically be used by racists (as in, “Those <minority> are really crafty. They’re always hatching some sort of scheme.”).
American here who has seen lots of British TV. I agree that clever is used more frequently, but I never got that they meant anything different by it than we do. In my personal experience, clever never had any sort of negative connotations. Calling someone clever would certainly not be an insult or damning them with faint praise, to me. I think that clever refers to being able to think differently than other people, come up with novel solutions to problems quickly. In fact, it is quite the compliment. Clever can also be applied to someone with a lot of wit.
I agree that crafty is the evil twin of clever. They mean almost the same thing, but crafty has negative overtones to it. Evil people can be clever too, but only bad guys can be crafty.
But as far as the point about people using the word clever more in British TV shows, that much is true.
I have noticed that the British TV shows use the word “brilliant” in the way Americans might use “awesome”. Brilliant to us just means very intelligent or well-thought out, ie a brilliant plan, a brilliant doctor, etc, but in the UK, brilliant gets applied to lots of different things.
Yep, brilliant is used in place of ‘great’. Awesome sounds really OTT to our ears. If a Brit ever says awesome to you, you will know he’s taking the piss.
Yep. For some reason, it sounds like a really exaggerated expression, only to be used for purely ‘awesome’ events like, I dunno, the eruption of Vesuvius or something. Me promising to pick you up from the station is not ‘awesome’. It is, however, brilliant
Correct. You’re good!
If a Brit said ‘awesome’ to me, I would assume they were being sarcastic, or have been watching too much Glee. It’s also impossible to pronounce without putting on a faux sorority girl accent.
