smart-assadj.n.
/ˈsmɑːtas/, U.S. /ˈsmɑrdˌæs/ slang (originally and chiefly U.S.).
A. adj.
Characterized by an overly clever or smug display of intelligence or (esp. professional) knowledge. Cf. smart-alecky adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > would-be clever person > [adjective]
smarty1850
smart alec1877
clever-clever1896
wise guy1920
slick1921
smarty-pants1932
wisenheimer1937
smart-ass1951
smart-assed1957
smart-arsed1962
smarty-boots1962
smart-arse1965
wise-assed1967
wise-ass1971
1951 D. P. Wilson My Six Convicts iii. 46 Last time I filled in some papers a smart-ass D.A. tries to have me shipped back to Italy.
1962 J. D. MacDonald Girl ix. 118 Some smart-ass crowd set up all the confusion so as they could clean out them stores.
1972 D. Delman Week to Kill 115 But you've got a smart-ass answer for that, haven't you?
1975 Time Out 9 May 13/2 When I'm hyping a film, as I'm doing now, I try not to get too smartass and articulate.
2004 H. Kennedy Just Law (2005) iv. 108 Straw insisted that juries are duped by clever criminals and smart-ass lawyers, getting away with it time after time.
B. n.
A person who is, or wishes to seem, clever, but is regarded as smug and annoying. Cf. smart alec n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > would-be clever person > [noun]
clever-boots1847
smarty1847
smart alec1864
clever-clogs1866
clever-sides1886
clever Dick1895
wise guy1896
wisenheimer1904
smarty-pants1935
quiz kid1940
smart apple1940
smarty-boots1950
smart-ass1958
slick1959
clever-sticks1964
smart-arse1965
wise-ass1971
1958 G. Lea Somewhere there's Music xi. 98 There's a smart-ass in there drunk on wine. Maybe we should go somewhere else.
1972 P. Marks Collector's Choice ii. 102 You're too pretty to be such a smart-ass. Just watch your step.
1977 Private Eye 1 Apr. 23/4 (advt.) Get it together to put down pseuds, poseurs and general smartasses.
1997 D. Hansen Sole Survivor xxxiv. 337 Learn to listen, Smart Ass. I said whoever catches a fish last empties the toilet bucket.
2008 Magnet No. 79. 86/1 Their perpetually drunk, stoned and dumbstruck shtick belied the acumen of four gifted musicians, true rock'n'roll believers and world-class smartasses.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
smart-assv.
/ˈsmɑːtas/, U.S. /ˈsmɑrdˌæs/ slang (originally and chiefly U.S.).
transitive. To speak or behave in an ostentatiously or smugly clever manner towards; to be a ‘smart-ass’ to (another). Also occasionally: to make (one's way) or say (something) in this manner. Also intransitive.Frequently in imperative phrases, in negative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > would-be clever person > say [verb (transitive)]
smart-ass1965
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > would-be clever person > behave [verb (intransitive)]
smart-ass1976
smart-arse1982
1965 J. Feiffer Great Comic Bk. Heroes iii. 28 Who, having once noted Batman smart-assing his way through a fist fight, has not forever been taken with him?
1970 E. Tidyman Shaft (1971) vii. 95 ‘You can complain to the union,’ he had smart-assed Persons, ‘but twelve-fifty an hour is only my rate for living. I get a lot more for dying.’
1976 R. B. Parker Promised Land xix. 115 Don't smart-ass with me, Johnny, or you'll be looking very close at the floor.
1978 F. Ross Sleeping Dogs 152 ‘I guess it's something to do with the generation gap, sir.’ ‘Don't smart-ass me!’
1999 A. Payne & J. Taylor Election (film script) Dick. Don't you smartass me! Don't you dare smartass me! You just shut your mouth!
2000 G. Santoro Myself when I am Real (2001) iii. 39 One night, Mingus smart-assed Brother Woodman, one of Britt's siblings.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1951v.1965