wise guy

wise guy
wise-guy, adj.
Informal. a cocksure, conceited, and often insolent person; smart aleck: He has a reputation for being a wise guy. Also called wiseacre.
[1895-1900, Amer.]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • wise guy — wise guys also wiseguy N COUNT (disapproval) If you say that someone is a wise guy, you dislike the fact that they think they are very clever and always have an answer for everything. [INFORMAL] Syn: smart alec …   English dictionary

  • wise guy — wise ,guy noun count someone who annoys you because they think that they know everything or are very funny …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • wise guy — wise′ guy n. Informal. inf a cocksure, conceited, and often insolent person; smart aleck • Etymology: 1895–1900, amer …   From formal English to slang

  • wise guy — [n] smart aleck; gangster bigmouth*, criminal, crook, hood, hoodlum, know it all*, Mafioso*, member of the family, mobster, smart ass*, smarty pants*, wiseacre, wiseass, wisenheimer; concept 412 …   New thesaurus

  • wise guy — ► NOUN informal ▪ a person who makes sarcastic or insolent remarks so as to demonstrate their cleverness …   English terms dictionary

  • wise guy —    Used with varying degrees of aggression to someone who is ostentatiously revealing his knowledge, especially if the person addressed has corrected something said by the speaker.    Like the older ‘wiseacre’, ‘wise guy’ can be converted into a… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • wise guy — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms wise guy : singular wise guy plural wise guys someone who annoys you because they think that they know everything or think that they are very funny …   English dictionary

  • wise guy — n. a foolish person; a smart aleck. (See also smart guy. Also a term of address.) □ Look, wise guy, mind your own business! □ Some wise guy messed up my work …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • wise-guy — American & Australian, informal, American, very informal! a wise guy someone who is always trying to seem more clever than everyone else in a way that is annoying. Hyde s wise guy humour loses its charm after a few episodes. (always before noun) …   New idioms dictionary

  • wise guy — {n. phr.}, {informal} A person who acts as if he were smarter than other people; a person who jokes or shows off too much * /Bill is a wise guy and displeases others by what he says./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

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