smart ass

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See synonyms for: smart ass / smart asses / smart-asses on Thesaurus.com

noun Slang: Sometimes Vulgar.

a wise guy; know-it-all.

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What does "dignity" mean?

Also smart-ass, smartass .

Origin of smart ass

First recorded in 1905–10

smart-ass

[ smahrt-as ]

/ ˈsmɑrtˌæs /

Slang: Sometimes Vulgar.

adjective

Also smart-assed, smartassed . characteristic of a smart ass or wise guy.

noun

First recorded in 1955–60

Ass-kicking, bad guy-killing Carter is just a future spinster.
Marvel’s ‘Agent Carter’ Stomps on the Patriarchy|Melissa Leon|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
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
So just looking forward to taking our sweet ass time with this next one.
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll|James Joiner|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The revelation that, at age 42, Ben Affleck has one hell of an ass.
Year of the Butt: How the Booty Changed the World in 2014|Kevin Fallon|December 30, 2014|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
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
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel hath not known me, and my people hath not understood.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
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