smart aleck

Smart aleck is a negative term for a person who thinks he is intelligent and who always has an answer for everything.

(noun)

An example of a smart aleck is the class clown who always shouts out when the teacher is asking questions.

The definition of smart aleck is someone or something that is annoying because they comes across as having know-it-all tendencies.

(adjective)

An example of a smart aleck answer is a sarcastic reply to a question.

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See smart aleck in Webster's New World College Dictionary

or smart alec

Informal a person who is offensively conceited and self-assertive; cocky, bumptious person

Origin: smart + Aleck, dim. of Alexander

Related Forms:

See smart aleck in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
Informal
  1. A person regarded as obnoxiously self-assertive.
  2. An impudent person.

Origin:

Origin: Perhaps after Aleck Hoag, 19th-century American confidence man and thief

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Related Forms:

  • smartˈ-alˌeck (smärtˈălˌĭk), smartˈ-alˌeck·y (-ĭ-kē) adjective

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