😏 A sarcastic person 😏 Annoyingly clever

wise aleck

8.1

A person who annoys others by acting like they know everything and making sarcastic remarks

noun
/ˈwaɪz ˈælɪk/

Offensive

: sabelotodo

During class, the wise aleck kept interrupting the teacher with clever remarks.

Examples

Nobody likes a wise aleck who always has a sarcastic comment for everything.
Don't be such a wise aleck all the time!
She told the wise aleck to keep his opinions to himself for once.
I can't stand that wise aleck in our class.
Nobody likes a wise aleck who always has a sarcastic comment for everything.
During class, the wise aleck kept interrupting the teacher with clever remarks.
I can't stand that wise aleck in our class.

Synonyms

wise guy

vswise aleck

Offensive

43 7.4

A person who makes clever or rude jokes to seem smart

covers the same tone but can be used for playful teasing

smarty

vswise aleck

Offensive

30 7.7

A person who acts like they know everything and annoys others

adds regular sarcastic annoyance rather than just showing cleverness

know-it-all

vswise aleck

Offensive

28 5.7

A person who thinks they are always right and annoys others

shares the boasting but adds active sarcastic remarks to annoy

smart-ass

vswise aleck

Offensive

27 9.3

A person who annoys others by saying sarcastic or rude things

is the same behaviour but can be slightly less crude in tone

know-all

vswise aleck

Offensive

9 7.7

A person who acts like they have all the answers and won't listen to others

overlaps in arrogance but also includes deliberate sarcastic irritation

wiseass

vswise aleck

Offensive

8 9.9

A person who makes rude, clever remarks to annoy others

focuses on the same sarcasm but can be more playful than mean

smart aleck

vswise aleck

Offensive

5 7.5

A person who acts as if they know everything and annoys others

is the same idea but often used in informal speech

wiseacre

vswise aleck

Offensive

2 9.6

A person who acts as if they know everything and annoys others

shares conceit but may not always aim to provoke others

wisenheimer

vswise aleck

Offensive

2 9.9

A person who makes rude clever remarks to annoy others

is similar but may carry slightly more arrogance than wit

smart arse

vswise aleck

Offensive

1 9.4

A person who says clever things to annoy or upset others

expresses the same irritation but may be less explicitly rude

weisenheimer

vswise aleck

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who acts like they know everything and makes rude comments

matches that behaviour but can be a bit less sarcastic

wisecracker

vswise aleck

Informal

1 7.1

A person who often makes short funny or sarcastic remarks

matches the joking but can be more about showing superiority

clever clogs

vswise aleck

Offensive

1 8.5

A person who shows off knowledge and annoys others

overlaps but the key typically expresses annoyance through sarcasm

clever Dick

vswise aleck

Offensive

9.6

A person who acts smart to annoy or show off

is similar but the key often uses sarcasm to irritate others

wise apple

vswise aleck

Offensive

9.9

A person or remark that is clever but rude

shares cheekiness but the key mainly irritates by showing off knowledge

wiseling

vswise aleck

Offensive

9.9

A person who pretends to know things and gives bad advice

is more about annoying sarcasm and showing off knowledge rather than false advice

How Annoying

know-it-all

Offensive

28 5.7

smart-ass

Offensive

12 9.6

wise aleck

Offensive

8.1

wiseacre

Offensive

2 9.6

Surface Forms

wise aleck singular

wise alecks plural

Morphology

wise + aleck

The adjective 'wise' clearly contributes a notion of cleverness, so a learner could infer a basic 'clever person' reading from the parts. However, 'aleck' is a dialectal/slang element (most familiar in the fixed collocation 'smart aleck') and carries a pejorative, mocking/pragmatic nuance that is not fully predictable from the words alone, making the phrase partially lexicalized.

Etymology

Wise aleck may come from a nickname for a man called Alec who liked to act wise and make smart, annoying remarks. So, the phrase came to mean 'a person who annoys others by acting as if they know everything'.