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aleck

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smart aleck

One who makes jokes and uses sarcasm in an attempt to seem witty, but instead is deemed annoying. Also seen as "smart alec." I'd had enough of that smart alec's wisecracks, so I left the party early.

See also: aleck, smart

a smart alec/aleck

  (informal)

someone who is always trying to seem more clever than everyone else in a way that is annoying Some smart alec in the audience kept making witty remarks during my talk.

See also: alec, smart

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.

See also: aleck, smart