smart cookie

plural smart cookies

1. informalAn individual regarded as clever, astute, or judicious.

   This dog was one smart cookie and was quickly picking up the game plan.

   2008, Douglas E. Egenolf, The Last Seasons: The Story of the Bird Hunter, Dog Ear Publishing, published 2008, →ISBN, page 64

   3 more examples

   “Who is it, out there.” “I’m lost on the road can you tell me where I am.” “You’re right here, stranger. You got me out of bed. Clear off before I sprinkle your ass with buckshot.” “It’s a dire emergency.” “Don’t try to be a smart cookee stranger.”

   1963, J P Donleavy, A Singular Man, published 1963 (USA), page 182

   Newland, lead cook and a smart cookie, would find some way to feed them if they got stranded ashore.

   1992, Eugene B. Fluckey, Thunder Below!: The USS Barb Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II, University of Illinois Press, published 1997, →ISBN, page 373

   Is it a coincidence that Fox Home Entertainment, one smart cookie in sell-through, has designated the $170 million hit "There's Something About Mary" for rental?

   1998 November 28, Seth Goldstein, “DVD Not The Only Concern For Tape's Sell-Through Biz; DVD Packagers Roll 'Em Out”, in Billboard