English

Etymology
aleck is a nickname for Alexander. The phrase is possibly derived from the name Aleck Hoag, a 19^th century con man and thief.

Noun
smart aleck or smart alec

1. one who is pretentious to cleverness or knowledge; a know-it-all
2. one who is obnoxiously self assured; a show off
3. rare a well dressed person

Synonyms
smarty or smartie
wise guy
wiseacre

Adjective
smart-aleck, smart-alecky

1. pretentious; obnoxiously self assured

#: Your smart-alecky comments are unneeded.

Synonyms
insolent
wise-crack

• 2007-12-13 06:07 - Robert Ullmann - Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/67.53.130.69|67.53.130.69]] ([[User_talk:67.53.130.69|Talk]]); changed back to last version by [[User:AutoFormat|AutoFormat]]

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