idiot savant

See also: idiot-savant

English

Etymology

From French

Noun

idiot savant (plural idiots savants or idiot savants)

  1. A person who exhibits an extraordinary ability in one subject (often mathematics) whilst being mentally retarded in all other fields.
    • 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)‎:
      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.

Synonyms
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