alecky
2
9.5
- adjective
- /əˈlɛki/
- Informal
:
respondón
- All this hip, snide, smart-alecky...
- smart-alecky
Examples
-
Aren't you just a little bit worried that in the magical year 2000, some smart alecky scientist might suddenly discover that horses have minds or souls?
Fiction book (1995) -
Really, Tom, I'm not trying to be smart alecky, but the difference between a professionally designed blog and one on Blogger is huge.
Blog text (27) -
As smart alecky as I am, you, sir, are just ridiculous.
Blog text (21) -
"You were really smart-alecky as a child," she said.
Fiction book (1995) -
Someone should wash that smart-alecky mouth of yours out with an old bar of Lava soap.
Fiction book (2000) -
What, did Kareesha bring home a new, smart-alecky boyfriend in her 2013 Batmobile?
Blog text (3) -
Some of them smart-alecky professors, wise-guy writers and agitators.
-
Seems Plato had it in for this wise guy Socrates after that smart-alecky geezer made him look stupid in front of his boyfriend.
Fiction book (2000) -
What the pothunters had not bargained for were these three smart-alecky mouths and all the yapping and dawdling, but of course that was part of July's plan.
Fiction book (1993) -
When he made a smart-alecky remark during the meeting, it caught everyone off guard.
Synonyms
99
4.0
Using words that say the opposite of what you mean to mock or hurt someone
37
7.9
Being rude in a clever, mocking way
33
4.8
Being rude in a playful way that shows little respect
21
7.5
Showing dry, slightly mocking humor and not taking things seriously
9
8.1
Showing mocking, bitter humor that makes fun of people
1
9.1
Acting rude and clever to annoy others
1
9.9
Having a sharp, unfriendly tone that criticizes others
Being clever in a way that annoys others by sounding sarcastic
To say mocking or rude things to tease someone
Antonyms
How Cheeky
Surface Forms
Morphology
alecky = aleck (transparent) = aleck + y
The adjective/adverb is predictably formed by adding the productive suffix '-y' to the slang noun 'aleck', yielding 'characterized by or like an aleck'.
Etymology
Alecky comes from the old phrase smart-aleck, where smart means 'clever' and Alec is a common name. A helpful way to remember it is to think of someone named Alec acting too 'clever' or 'cheeky', so alecky describes a rude, show-off way of behaving.