idiot savant
See also: idiot-savant
English edit
Etymology edit
From French idiot savant, literally ‘wise idiot’.
Noun edit
idiot savant (plural idiots savants or idiot savants)
- (possibly derogatory) A person who exhibits an extraordinary ability in one subject (often mathematics) whilst being intellectually disabled in many other domains.
- 2014 May 11, Ivan Hewett, “Piano Man: a Life of John Ogdon by Charles Beauclerk, review: A new biography of the great British pianist whose own genius destroyed him [print version: A colossus off-key, 10 May 2014, p. R27]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)[1]:
- The temptation is to regard him [John Ogdon] as an idiot savant, a big talent bottled inside a recalcitrant body and accompanied by a personality that seems not just unremarkable, but almost entirely blank.
Usage notes edit
- The more current term is savant.
Synonyms edit
- autistic savant