nɒt ˈpleɪɪŋ wɪð ə fʊl dɛk
General
informal
intermediate
- Literally:
- Playing cards without all 52 cards
What does "not playing with a full deck" mean?
- Not mentally competent or intelligent
- Lacking common sense or sanity
Examples
- His ideas are so crazy—he's not playing with a full deck.
- Anyone who believes that isn't playing with a full deck.
- She's clearly not playing with a full deck.
Origin
From card games—playing without a full deck is a disadvantage. Extended to mean lacking full mental faculties.
How to use it
Informal and potentially offensive. Use with caution when describing mental capacity.
Similar expressions
not all there
a few cards short
mentally unstable
Opposites
all there
sharp
mentally sound
Related idioms
- actions speak louder than words
What people do is more important than what they say
- better safe than sorry
It's better to be careful and prevent problems than to take risks
- so far so good
Things have gone well up to now
- easier said than done
Something is more difficult to do than to talk about
- make a long story short
To summarize or get to the point
- to make matters worse
In addition to existing problems
Use it in a practice answer
Try "not playing with a full deck" in a CELPIP-style Speaking or Writing task. The AI feedback tells you whether your word choice worked.