Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A person regarded as annoyingly self-assertive, especially for making impudent displays of knowledge.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun One who is given to
obnoxious orinsolent humor ; awise guy . - noun One who is
pretentious about their owncleverness orknowledge ; aknow-it-all . - noun One who is
obnoxiously self-assured ; ashow off . - noun rare A well-
dressed person.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an upstart who makes conceited, sardonic, insolent comments
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Perhaps after Aleck, Hoag, 19th-century American confidence man and thief.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Aleck is a nickname for Alexander. The phrase "smart aleck" is possibly derived from the name Aleck Hoag, a 19th century con man and thief.
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Examples
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Prolagus commented on the word smart aleck
A clever Dick.
March 13, 2010