nice-but-dim

UK/ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/

adjective

Good-natured, while also being rather unintelligent.

First used 20th c.
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Meanings

adjectivenice-but-dim (not comparable)
  1. UKcolloquialnot comparableGood-natured, while also being rather unintelligent.First known use 20th c.

    While there was always a touch of the caricature about the Sandhurst cadet as the nice-but-dim public schoolboy, there was also a significant measure of truth.

    2002 July 23, John Crace, The Guardian
    2 more examples

    […] he was worried that Michael Parkinson might ask him questions with long words that he wouldn't understand, no doubt fearing a resurgence of the “nice-but-dim” taunts that had all too often come his way.

    2001, Andrew Morton, Posh & Becks, page 190

    The main difference in Hong Kong was that 1997 witnessed a transition from colonial rule to government by tycoon, as the nice-but-dim shipping heir Tung Chee-hwa became the territory's first chief executive.

    2007, Joe Studwell, Asian Godfathers, page 169

Origin

From nice + but + dim, popularised by the character Tim Nice-But-Dim on Harry Enfield's Television Programme.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nice-but-dim. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nice-but-dim

MLA

“nice-but-dim.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nice-but-dim. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nice-but-dim,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nice-but-dim.

Source: nice-but-dim on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.