whip-smart

Adjective

whip-smart (comparative more whip-smart, superlative most whip-smart)

1. (Canada, US, informal) Very intelligent.
   • Seeing them here in town, smart in American-style uniforms, Peru's Army looks extremely well-trained, whip-smart.1948, Ray Josephs, Latin America: Continent in Crisis, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →OCLC
   • [Reed F.] Cutler, 350-pounder from Lewistown in the strip coalmining area, was a constant thorn in the Democratic side. A whip-smart parliamentarian, he effectively filled the role of "needler" as House Republican Leader.1949, Don E. Chamberlain, “Illinois: The ‘New Look’”, in Robert S[haron] Allen, editor, Our Sovereign State, New York, N.Y.: The Vanguard Press; Toronto, Ont.: Copp Clark Company, →OCLC, page 208

   Synonyms:

   smart as a whip, sharp as a tack

   Antonyms:

   addlebrained, addlepated, airheaded, bee-brained, beef-witted, soft, beefheaded, beetle-headed, birdbrained, blockheaded