Good word suggestion

[fmyers]

Dear Dr. Goodword,

First let me express my gratitude to you for your good humored contributions to my mailbox which invariably brighten the day. The word I wish to suggest to you is "SMUG". It's short, pungent and apt in several situations. Although I have been one of your steady readers for years, I don't know if you have analyzed it before. I know I would enjoy your discussion of it. Again, the word is "smug".

All the best,

Frank Myers
Stony Brook, New York

[Perry Lassiter]

Be patient. Doc has several times worked over one of my submissions, crediting it to me when I can no longer remember dubmitting it!

Meantime, the Online Etymylogical Dictionary saith:
smug (adj.)
1550s, "trim, neat, spruce, smart," possibly an alteration of Low German smuk "trim, neat," from Middle Low German smücken "to adorn" (originally "to dress," secondary sense of words meaning "to creep or slip into"), from the same source as smock. The meaning "having a self-satisfied air" is from 1701, an extension of the sense of "smooth, sleek" (1580s), which was commonly used of attractive women and girls. Related: Smugly; smugness.