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""A stupid person's idea of a clever person", Julie Burchill of Stephen Fry."

— Misquotations

January 1, 1970

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Added on April 10, 2026

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Original Language: English

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This phrase was coined by the Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen about Aldous Huxley in the 1930s. Burchill remarked that "My husband claims that it was I who coined the line about Stephen Fry that he is "a stupid person's idea of a clever person". And if I weren't a sober person's idea of a booze-addled person, I might be more useful in remembering whether this is true or not. Whatever, it's pretty damn good."

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Misquotations

This phrase was coined by the Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen about Aldous Huxley in the 1930s. Burchill remarked that "My husband claims that it was I who coined the line about Stephen Fry that he is "a stupid person's idea of a clever person". And if I weren't a sober person's idea of a booze-addled person, I might be more useful in remembering whether this is true or not. Whatever, it's pretty damn good."