Talk:too clever by half

RFD discussion: June–December 2018

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too clever by half

This is just one case of "too ... by half". (The usage examples might be good there.) Equinox ◑ 00:02, 30 June 2018 (UTC)

It looks like a "lemming" keep. DonnanZ (talk) 09:06, 2 July 2018 (UTC)

The definition we currently have at by half (and those I see in other dictionaries), which focuses on just being "in excess", doesn't really allow one to derive the def we have at too clever by half, but I think that may be a fixable shortcoming of the definition, since in "too talented by half", "too smart by half" etc it seems to have the same meaning of "excessive to the point of excess complexity which causes failures" (or something like that). Presumably we have to fix that (I've taken a stab at it) even if we keep this specific phrase on a 'lemming' argument (Merriam-Webster and Oxford Dictionaries Online do include this one; Merriam-Webster, Collins, and Dictionary.com also have "by half"). Abstain for now. - -sche (discuss) 16:32, 8 August 2018 (UTC)

Delete, maybe add it to the snow clones appendix, and improve by half. Per utramque cavernam 11:50, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

• Keep per WT:LEMMING: M-W[1], oxforddictionaries.com[2]. --Dan Polansky (talk) 11:04, 10 November 2018 (UTC)

Kept. bd2412 T 02:53, 2 December 2018 (UTC)

@BD2412: Can you please restore the entry? The deletion seems to have been unintentional. --Dan Polansky (talk) 09:11, 2 December 2018 (UTC)

• Yes it was. My mind went one way and my fingers went another. bd2412 T 14:03, 2 December 2018 (UTC)

RFD discussion: January–March 2020

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too clever by half

Redirect to by half. Canonicalization (talk) 20:35, 5 January 2020 (UTC)

• Keep as is. It passed RFD just over a year ago. Besides that, it has lemmings, and is a set phrase. DonnanZ (talk) 13:09, 6 January 2020 (UTC)

My opinion from the previous RFD still holds. Equinox ◑ 18:50, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

I would like to keep this set phrase. SemperBlotto (talk) 10:16, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

Keep set phrase. Add link to by half. Mihia (talk) 23:04, 10 January 2020 (UTC)

I do think it's SOP, but it's in lemmings and already passed RFD not long ago, so I abstain. - -sche (discuss) 20:47, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

• Keep per WT:LEMMING: M-W[3], lexico.com[4]. A 2018 RFD is at Talk:too clever by half. --Dan Polansky (talk) 11:53, 15 February 2020 (UTC)

• RFD kept, per consensus. --Dan Polansky (talk) 12:25, 6 March 2020 (UTC)