From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbright sparkbright sparkinformalINTELLIGENT someone who says or does something that they think is intelligent but is really wrong or stupid Some bright spark thought the building was on fire and called the fire brigade. → bright
Examples from the Corpus
bright spark• Some academics try to counteract this trend by trying to identify the bright sparks and arrange special seminars for them.• Too many bright sparks have been lost to Britain in the past.• The growers appeared to be facing ruin until one bright spark hit on an idea.• I should have realised that genius, as some bright spark in the office said, has a lot to do with genes.• She watched the bright spark of the spear approaching, and felt nothing but a dull kind of relief.• Here, some bright spark thought Windsor Castle was on fire and called the fire brigade!• It didn't take long for some bright spark to try out the Doom Diver Catapult in a battle.• Quo and Maiden are in the lead but a few bright sparks voted for Saxon. 