Smart aleck

[skinem]

smart al·eck

Variant(s): also smart al·ec \ˈsmärt-ˌa-lik, -ˌe-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Aleck, nickname for Alexander
Date: 1865
: an obnoxiously conceited and self-assertive person with pretensions to smartness or cleverness
— smart–aleck adjective
— smart–al·ecky \-ˌa-lə-kē, -ˌe-\ adjective

While I've seen this word used here, (often pointed at me)
I've never seen it as a "good word".
A couple questions come to mind--Who's Aleck? Why not a dumbaleck? Or Steve? Or (pick your favorite)?

[Perry]

Perhaps because the original Aleck was no dummy.

smart (adj.)
late O.E. smeart "sharp, severe, stinging," related to smeortan (see smart (v.)). Meaning "quick, active, clever" is attested from c.1303, probably from the notion of "cutting" wit, words, etc.; meaning "trim in attire" first attested 1718, "ascending from the kitchen to the drawing-room c.1880." [Weekley] In ref. to devices, "behaving as though guided by intelligence" (e.g. smart bomb) first attested 1972. Smarts "good sense, intelligence," is first recorded 1968. Smart aleck is from 1865, perhaps in allusion to Aleck Hoag, notorious pimp, thief, and confidence man in New York City in early 1840s. Smart cookie is from 1948; smarty-pants first attested 1941.

[gailr]

That juxtaposition of smart aleck and smarty pants warns that a fool and his money are soon parted...


Belike Smeortan (Schmee-orrrrrrr-tahn) would be a fine name for a Ren Faire.

-gailr

[Bailey]

or maybe that a fool and His pants are soon parted?

mark pants-is-a-funny-word Bailey

[Stargzer]

If a man pants after a woman, and a woman pants after a man, does that make a pair of pants?