smarmyadj.n.

1909 C. Hamilton Plain Brown i. 4 A tall, slight, smarmy-headed man.

1928 K. Clark Gothic Revival ix. 236 If he [sc. Gilbert Scott] saved a few cathedrals from ruins, we must, I suppose, look more kindly on their smalmy surfaces.

1924 ‘L. Brock’ Deductions of Col. Gore iv. 51 Don't you be taken in by that smarmy swine.

1927 Chambers's Jrnl. 103/1 He had what I call a ‘smarmy’ voice.

1927 Blackwood's Mag. Nov. 603/1 He writes letters every week—odious, hypocritical, smarmy letters.

1929 St. J. Ervine First Mrs. Fraser ii. 49 Janet. But, Ninian dear, you shouldn't have said anything. Ninian. He was looking so smarmy and self-satisfied that I had to.

1930 London Mercury Aug. 380 Our forefathers rejected ‘smarmy’ overtures with ‘Fair words butter no parsnips’.

1955 H. Spring These Lovers fled Away 133 Uriah Heep's sort of smarmy humbleness.

1962 S. Raven Close of Play i. vi. 77 He's a smarmy, ingratiating swine.

1976 J. B. Hilton Gamekeeper's Gallows viii. 66 She used to..tell her how grateful she was. Not smarmy, like; genuine.

1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion i. ix. 98 He always treated her as if she were a little bit better than he was; an attitude that was smarmy in other men.

1957 T. Gunn Sense of Movement 22 You understand..the speculative man or passionate You know the smarmies, but side-step the grease.

1968 J. Porter Dover goes to Pott i. 15 Dover, sycophant and snob that he was, smarmily agreed.

1982 Sunday Express 30 May 6/8 It is smarmily hypocritical.

1934 H. Nicolson Let. 17 Nov. (1966) 189 There is something about the smarminess of Americans which makes me see red.

1958 ‘A. Bridge’ Portuguese Escape 184 The art of making himself agreeable in his current surroundings, whatever they were; but..he rather over~did it..‘smarminess’ described his conversation with painful accuracy.

1974 ‘D. Kyle’ Raft of Swords ii. xii. 129 With deliberate smarminess, Gawthorpe thanked him.