does'nt suffer fools gladly

[fruitsalad]

what exactly does this mean?

[grasscarp]

It means that this person doesnt put up with incompetent people.

[Quizmonster]

In the Bible, Second Corinthians Chapter 11 Verse19 reads, "For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise." ('Suffer' here means 'stand' or 'put up with'.) That is the source of the saying and its suggestion is that we really should suffer fools gladly. In other words, it's not the fool's fault that he is a fool, so just accept him for what he is.
As we use it nowadays, it means - exactly as Grasscarp suggests above - that the person is not prepared to do that.

[Vesper99]

Surely Paul in Corinthians is criticising people who put up too easily with fools. Others had seemed to overturn his preaching. Paul was not impressed.

[Quizmonster]

You may well be right, Vesper...in fact, with a religion-related name such as Vesper you probably are! I could scarcely be more opposite in religious terms. Consequently, I merely found the source of the quote, read the appropriate verse and took the words "ye yourselves are wise" at face value. I had and have no interest in the context.
My apologies, Fruitsalad, if I misled you, but my error of interpretation made no difference to what the source of the saying is nor to its current meaning

[Bert]

It amuses me, that, when asked to describe somebody's character, especially that of a boss or somebody who has recently died, people very often say, "He doesn't (or didn't) suffer fools gladly." I've never met anybody who did suffer fools gladly; I've certainly never heard it said of anybody.

[chakka35]

I think it's one of the most pompous things that anyone can say. A conceited man with whom I was corresponding once said it. I replied:

"You're very lucky to have the choice. If I define fools as people less intelligent than me than I would have no contact with anyone unless I suffered them, gladly or otherwise. I certainly wouldn't be having this correspondence."

He didn't like that.

[kctgreat]

LOL!
What chakka35 said!
I feel the same way. A very pompous statement. Glad you put that man in his place! :D

[VS Prasad]

As a cliche it dates from the nineteenth century and is still common today, often being used of someone who is intolerant of people generally.

From _Cliches_ (1996) by Betty Kirkpatrick.

not suffer fools gladly Refuse to tolerate stupidity, as in "Chris can be intimidating at these meetings; she does not suffer fools gladly."

From _The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms_ by Christine Ammer.

[patricklogsdon]

Paul McCartney said this of fellow Beatle George Harrison, when asked to comment about Georges' death: ..."George was not one to suffer fools kindly"...this video is easily available on the internet..SO,now I know what it means!..Thanks answer bank!