Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nice-but-dim

/ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.61 in modern English

Syllables: nice-but-dim
IPA: /ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/

17

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Good-natured, while also being rather unintelligent.

British usage; Colloquial

Example Sentences

"[…] 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."
"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."
"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."

Etymology

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

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/

Usage

British usage
Colloquial

Questions

How do you pronounce nice-but-dim?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/.
What does nice-but-dim mean?: Good-natured, while also being rather unintelligent.
Where does nice-but-dim come from?: From nice + but + dim, popularised by the character Tim Nice-But-Dim on Harry Enfield's Television Programme.

How to pronounce nice-but-dim

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “nice-but-dim”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌnʌɪsbətˈdɪm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “nice-but-dim”.
Repeat and practice — Say “nice-but-dim” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.