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The meaning of SMART ALECK is an obnoxiously conceited and self-assertive person with pretensions to smartness or cleverness.
Mar 11, 2022 · This man was smart; a little too smart in the end, and you may have guessed his first name by now. Thanks to the extensive research of Professor Gerald Cohen and his book "Studies of Slang Part 1" (via Mental Floss ), we now know that the original smart alec was a man named Alec Hoag.
Dec 28, 2012 · These days, smart alecs (or alecks, depending on who you ask) are people who are obnoxiously conceited and think they're pretty clever. At one point, it was thought that this term was simply ...
SMART ALEC meaning: someone who tries to appear clever or who answers questions in a clever way that annoys other people. Learn more.
SMART ALECK meaning: 1. someone who tries to appear smart or who answers questions in a funny way that annoys other…. Learn more.
SMART ALECK definition: 1. someone who tries to appear smart or who answers questions in a funny way that annoys other…. Learn more.
A smart aleck is someone who's a wisecracking know-it-all. Greet a smart aleck by asking, "What's up?" and they're sure to answer, "The sky." Smart alecks can be funny, but their humor is usually tinged with an obnoxious arrogance. You could also call the smart alecks in your life "wise guys."
An impudent or obnoxiously self-assertive individual, a wise guy, as in New teachers often have a hard time coping with the smart alecks in their classes . This expression, dating from the mid-1800s, probably alluded to a person of this description who was named Alec or Alexander, but his identity has been lost.
Jul 12, 2001 · According to G.L. Cohen, author of Studies in Slang Part 1 (1985), the phrase smart alec(k) arose from the exploits of one Alec Hoag. A celebrated pimp, thief, and confidence man operating out of New York City in the 1840’s, Mr. Hoag, along with his wife Melinda and an accomplice known as “French Jack,” operated a con called the “panel ...
Nov 8, 2017 · The term smart aleck is usually used to describe someone who is sarcastic or humorous to a fault — someone too smart for their own good. For a long time, people thought that the term was generic and that there was no actual Alec.
