smart aleck

And increasingly smart navigation aids in the cockpit brought far greater precision and efficiency to route planning.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A woman in a smart uniform scribbles out tickets for a growing line of tourists eager to take a trip on the old-fashioned train.
Riding Thailand’s WWII Death Railway|Liza Foreman|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It used to be frequently said back in 2000 that Jeb was “the smart brother.”
Be the Smarter Bush Brother, Jeb: Don’t Run!|Michael Tomasky|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A lot of British pubs have been smart enough to understand this and respond.
Beer Countries vs. Wine Countries|Clive Irving|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Thorgerson and Powell turned to video and film—a smart move given the emergence of MTV.
The Golden Age of Rock Album Covers|Ted Gioia|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
During the first week, not a day passed without smart skirmishes.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Then summoning a smart young jemadar with whom he had talked a good deal during the journey, he asked him to read the chit.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Who could have believed that only a fortnight ago these same figures were clean as new pins; smart and well-liking!
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Christopher Smart, an English poet and miscellaneous writer, died; known by a popular translation of Horace.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
It was there that he longed to retire—to a dainty little hotel of his own with a smart clientèle.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for smart aleck

smart aleck

/ (ˈælɪk) /

noun plural smart alecks

informal an irritatingly oversmart person

Derived forms of smart aleck

smart-aleck or smart-alecky, adjective

Word Origin for smart aleck

C19: from Aleck, Alec, short for Alexander

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with smart aleck

smart aleck

An impudent or obnoxiously self-assertive individual, a wise guy, as in New teachers often have a hard time coping with the smart alecks in their classes. This expression, dating from the mid-1800s, probably alluded to a person of this description who was named Alec or Alexander, but his identity has been lost.

smart aleck

or smart al·ec

Origin of smart aleck

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British Dictionary definitions for smart aleck

Derived forms of smart aleck

Word Origin for smart aleck

Other Idioms and Phrases with smart aleck