Slang

smart-arse

This page is about the slang term smart-arse

British English offensive!

Meaning

a person who's annoying because they try to show how clever and knowledgeable they are (n.) | having an annoying way of trying to seem clever (adj.)

For example

  • Greg sounds like a bit of a smart-arse when he's in a discussion because he states his opinion as if it's the last word on a topic.

  • We don't need some smart-arse ecology professor coming out here and telling us how to run our farms.

Variety

This is typically used in British English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

Quick Quiz

Someone who's often called a smart-arse probably thinks they are

a. really sexy

b. really clever

c. really tough
a) really sexy b) really clever c) really tough

See Slang of the Day today

Contributor: Matt Errey