Why do they say smart alec

The police who Hoag was paying off soon discovered he was cheating them out of their share with this new con and arrested Hoag and Melinda. Hoag promptly escaped from prison, with the help of his brother, but was eventually recaptured.

This term, as an expression, then took about 20 years to germinate and eventually found its way in print in and popular culture shortly thereafter. US an unpleasantly conceited, smug person cf.

AllieC: Yep, thanks for catching that. Me: Michael Richards the guy in the picture is white. You might as well comment on his eye color. Racist much? The police nicknamed a criminal.. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Enjoy this article? Daven Hiskey April 10, pm. The root alektoro for rooster. Paul March 6, pm. A smart alec and a berserker, she is considered a loose cannon but is generally reliable.

From Wikipedia. Luckily, learning comes easily to hima bit too easily, however, and being naturally smart has allowed him to become a lazy smart alec. The last thing that we want is for a smart alec lawyer to drive a coach and horses through much-needed legislation the first time that it comes to court.

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Translations of smart alec in Chinese Traditional. See more. Need a translator? Translator tool. What is the pronunciation of smart alec?

Browse smarmily. Smart Board. Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes. Image credits. Word of the Day sweetheart. But Hoag's downfall came when he ran into some financial difficulties and couldn't give the officers their fair share. As soon as everything was right and the dupe not likely to heed outside noises, Melinda would give a cough, and the faithful Alec would slyly enter, rifle the pockets of every farthing or valuable thing, and finally disappear as mysteriously as he entered.

Sometime after that, Alec would bang on the door, and Melinda would make out that he was her husband who had returned early from some trip. The victims then would hastily grab their clothes and escape through the window.

The police soon discovered Hoag was cheating them out of their share by this new tactic and arrested Hoag and Melinda.