smart aleck
noun
Forms smart alecks smart alec
- noun One who is given to obnoxious or insolent humor.
- noun One who is pretentious about their own cleverness or knowledge.
- noun One who is obnoxiously self-assured; a show off.
- noun (rare) A well-dressed person.
Synonyms
wise guy smarty smarty pants smartmouth wise aleck know-it-all clever dick smart ass wise ass wiseacre Buddha clever clogs know-all wiseass wise-ass wisenheimer weisenheimer
Etymology
Aleck is a nickname for the male given name Alexander. The phrase smart aleck is possibly derived from the name of Aleck Hoag, a 19th-century American con man and thief.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “smart aleck”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details