Word.ws English Dictionary

clever clogs

clever clogs noun: somebody who is rather too clever; a smart aleck; sometimes used as an epithet.

Noun

clever clogs (plural clever clogs)

  1. (Ireland, UK, colloquial) Somebody who is rather too clever; a smart aleck; sometimes used as an epithet.
    • 'Not in itself,' said the Doctor, holding the gun at arm's length. 'But you tell me, what happens if some clever clogs gets this in his lab? Finds out how it works? The human race gets the secret of Dalek weapons. You'll all be dead by Wednesday week.'2006, Gareth Roberts, I Am a Dalek, BBC Books, page 39
    • 'All right then, clever-clogs,' said Yasmin. 'Any idea which one?'2011, Tom Bradman, Tony Bradman, Space School: Blast Off!, Bloomsbury (A & C Black), page 49

Synonyms of clever clogs

2 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of clever clogs

Forms of clever clogs

pluralclever clogs
alternative formcleverclogs
alternative formclever-clogs

Words formed from clever clogs

Questions about clever clogs

What does clever clogs mean?
Clever clogs means somebody who is rather too clever; a smart aleck; sometimes used as an epithet.
What part of speech is clever clogs?
Clever clogs is a noun.
What is the plural of clever clogs?
The plural of clever clogs is clever clogs.

Words near clever clogs in the dictionary

  1. Clevenger
  2. Clevengers
  3. clever
  4. clever arse
  5. clever arses
  6. clever clogs
  7. clever dick
  8. clever dicks
  9. clever-clever
  10. clever-cloggery
  11. clever-sticks

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: clever clogs (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-clever clogs.ogg.

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