city slicker

American  

noun

Often Disparaging.

1. a term used to refer to a worldly, nattily dressed city dweller.

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city slicker British  

noun

1. a person with the sophistication often attributed to city people

2. a smooth tricky untrustworthy person

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Sensitive Note

This term is often used with disparaging intent, implying that the city dweller is slick in a deceptive way, or ill-suited to a rural environment.

Etymology

Origin of city slicker

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Example Sentences

Mostly that has meant pretending to be a Real American by riding horses, going hunting or driving around in a pick-up to prove they aren’t some effete city slicker.

From Salon • Nov. 23, 2025

A couple times a year, some city slicker with impeccable elite-media credentials whispers to me: What do you think of Theo Von?

From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2021

A city slicker finds romance with a hunky ranch hand in the LGBTQ-themed TV movie “Dashing in December.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2020

The country boy in me dreamed of becoming a city slicker.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 2, 2019

Being a city slicker, he’d no doubt turn tail and beat it back to Terre Haute when we started bleeding out the first hog.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck