alec


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smart aleck

One who makes jokes and uses sarcasm in an attempt to seem witty, but instead is deemed annoying. Also seen as "smart alec." I'd had enough of that smart aleck's wisecracks, so I left the party early.
See also: aleck, smart

smart aleck

An impudent or obnoxiously self-assertive individual, a wise guy, as in New teachers often have a hard time coping with the smart alecks in their classes. This expression, dating from the mid-1800s, probably alluded to a person of this description who was named Alec or Alexander, but his identity has been lost.
See also: aleck, smart

a smart alec

BRITISH or

a smart aleck

A smart alec or a smart aleck is someone who is very clever and who is often able to answer questions in a clever way. Note: People sometimes spell `alec' and `aleck' with capital initials, as names. They've got some smart alec of a lawyer from London to oppose bail. Note: You can use smart alec and smart aleck before a noun. I hate smart-aleck kids who talk like dictionaries. Note: You use this expression to show that you find someone annoying. Note: Alec or Aleck is a shortened form of the name Alexander.
See also: alec, smart

smart alec (or aleck)

a person considered irritating because they know a great deal or always have a clever answer to a question.
From the male personal name Alec, a short form of Alexander.
See also: alec, smart

a ˈsmart alec/aleck

(informal, disapproving) a person who tries to show that they are cleverer than everyone else: Some smart alec wrote in to say that the last edition of the newspaper contained 37 printing errors.
See also: alec, aleck, smart
References in classic literature ?
I saw Big Alec dive overboard and his mate leap for our bowsprit.
That fixes his rifle," I heard Charley mutter, as he sprang upon the deck to look for Big Alec somewhere astern.
The next instant, to the perplexity and consternation of the owner, Charley was on top of Big Alec in the cockpit, and I was helping bind him with gaskets.
View in context
Authorities said Alec Tarasiuk told police he was upset because his father called him a name, told him he was worthless and said he had failed to do anything productive with his life.
Report: Hoffman Estates man pleads not guilty to killing father-BYLN- By Lee Filas lfilas@dailyherald.com
3 ( ANI ): The President of United States Donald Trump and Comedian Alec Baldwin on Friday engaged in a Twitter war after the former mocked the comedian for impersonating him on the show 'Saturday Night Live'.
Donald Trump, Alec Baldwin gets into Twitter war
Alec applied, was accepted and was off to France to fulfil his ambition.
Jockey Alec - a sporting hero who started by riding donkeys on beach!
Alec was 20 and his bride was a year younger but the couple had met when Edna was six years old.
Couple who celebrate 70th wedding anniversary on Christmas Day still live near playground where they met aged six; Devoted Alec Naulls, 90, and wife Edna, 89, tied the knot on December 25, 1947 - and still live near the street where they met
ALEC FITOUT was the specialist fit-out contractor appointed to deliver this project.
Sweet design: ALEC Fitout's interiors for Boutique Le Chocolat, Dubai
The archive also includes items such as medals, running gear, souvenir programmes and pictures from British Empire Games, Amateur Athletics Association championships and international and Northern cross country championships and keepsakes from Elswick Harriers, where Alec was a member.
Buyer is sought for Tyneside runner's Olympic treasures
The sale also features notes made by Alec on his Los Angeles and Berlin experiences and the programme for a supper held at the Oxford Galleries in Newcastle on September 20, 1932 to honour his achievements.
Olympian's story back in the limelight; ATHLETE'S MEDALS AND MEMENTOS ALL UP FOR AUCTION
ALEC describes itself as "America's largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators," connecting state lawmakers with "experts" to "discuss business and economic issues facing the states.
A Democratic Lawmaker Went Inside ALEC And Heard A Lot About Changing The Constitution
There were these two construction workers smoking a cigarette on Broadway, and as I walk by, they go: 'There he is, that f***ing asshole, Alec Baldwin.
Alec Baldwin feels hated by Trump supporters
Since CMD launched ALEC Exposed in 2011, more than 100 corporations have quit the group, with many echoing Eric Schmidt of Google who told NPR as his company quit ALEC: "I think the consensus within the company was that that was some sort of mistake and so we're trying to not do that in the future.
ALEC exposed
ALEC said its decision to standardise on Aconex was based on a history of success with the collaboration platform over many projects, beginning with the Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri luxury hotel, apartments and villas in Abu Dhabi, completed in 2007.
UAE: ALEC signs enterprise agreement with Aconex
Australia was in the grip of a drought but Alec seemed impervious to the heat.
Good on my cousin, hotshot Potts
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