Nearby Words

smart aleck

[al-ik]

smart aleck

[al-ik]
noun
1.
an obnoxiously conceited person.
2.
a wise guy.

Origin:
1860–65, Americanism; generic use of Aleck, nickname for Alexander

smart-al·eck·y, smart-al·eck, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Smart aleck is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
smart aleck (ˈælɪk)
 
n , pl smart alecks
informal an irritatingly oversmart person
 
[C19: from Aleck, Alec, short for Alexander]
 
'smart-aleck
 
adj
 
'smart-alecky
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

smart aleck

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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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