the sharpest pencil in the box

[zwxsnake]

Hi,

I’m not always the sharpest pencil in the box, but I’ve got a knack for knowing when people are trying to pull my leg. And so far as I could tell, Graham—or whoever he was—was on the level.

This is from the novella Einstein's Shadow. Does "the sharpest pencil in the box" here mean: the smartest people?

Thanks !

 

[kloie]

The brightest,smartest.
Another one is sharpest tool in the shed.

 

[Cenzontle]

"He's not the brightest light on the Christmas tree."
There are a number of similar expressions used to say someone is stupid. Good examples of the rhetorical figure called litotes.

 

[entangledbank]

And these are almost always negative in actual use. You say someone is not the sharpest pencil in the box, not that they are the sharpest.

 

[zwxsnake]

Right... not the sharpest. Thank you all !