wise guy
Americannoun
noun
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informal a person who is given to making conceited, sardonic, or insolent comments
-
a member of the Mafia
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wise guy
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“You wouldn’t hire a wise guy, you wouldn’t hire a made man, like a mobster, to work in a DA’s office.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2024
Mad magazine cartoonist and ageless wise guy delighted millions with the sneaky fun of the Fold-In and the snark of “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2023
Locke has Charlie’s gentle deportment but with the soft edge of a cool-kid wise guy.
From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2023
“I would say one person — a little, tiny bit of a raising of a voice, a wise guy a little bit,” Trump said, without identifying the governor.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 26, 2020
And if you tell ’em you knew a witty boy, you gotta tell ’em he was kind of a smart aleck, though, or a wise guy.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
