While his physical theories and experiments were an impenetrable mystery to his second wife, Elsa, she often expressed a desire to learn.
"Couldn't you tell me a little about your work?" she asked one day. "People talk a lot about it, and I appear so THICK when I say I know nothing."
Einstein, after a moment's thought, produced a curious solution to her human problem: "If people ask," he advised, "tell them you know all about it, but can't tell them, as it is a great secret!"
Did you know?
thick (British)
= unintelligent, slow witted, stupid
Thick occurs in several common English phrases:
- into the thick of sth. = mitten in etw. hinein - in the thick of it = im dichtesten Gewühl - through thick and thin = durch dick und dünn - in the thick of the fight = im Schlachtgetümmel - as thick as two short planks = dumm wie Bohnenstroh - That's a bit thick = Das ist ein starkes Stück