- A person regarded as obnoxiously self-assertive.
- An impudent person.
[Perhaps after Aleck Hoag, 19th-century American confidence man and thief.]
smartaleck smart'-al'eck (smärt'ăl'ĭk) or smart'-al'eck·y (-ĭ-kē) adj.
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[Perhaps after Aleck Hoag, 19th-century American confidence man and thief.]
smartaleck smart'-al'eck (smärt'ăl'ĭk) or smart'-al'eck·y (-ĭ-kē) adj.
noun
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 noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
an upstart who makes conceited, sardonic, insolent comments
Synonyms: wise guy, wiseacre, wisenheimer, weisenheimer
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