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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

wisenheimer en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈwaɪz(ə)nˌhaɪməɹ/ (US)

Etymology

From wise + the German demonymic ending -enheimer.

Meanings

  1. (US, informal) A self-assertive and arrogant person; a wiseacre or smart aleck.
    • "It wasn’t until I read Mark Oppenheimer’s charming memoir that I had an apt description of my son: “…a smart aleck is a smart guy gone bad, a boy whose smartness is being used stupidly, while a wisenheimer actually lacks wisdom. He might not be cruel, he might not mean harm, but a wisenheimer is a smart guy you wish had a little less smarts.” 2010, J. Bolton-Fasman, "Debating Salvation: A smart aleck finds his niche" The Jerusalem Post 11/11/2010 On-line, accessed November 13, 2010 (quotations are from Wisenheimer: A Childhood Subject to Debate by Mark Oppenheimer (Hardcover - Apr 13, 2010))
    • One particular striker shorter than Hicks and wearing glasses, ordinarily the daily double of who not to go after, a wisenheimer with a mouth on him, somehow cannot be chased off or brought down. 2025, Thomas Pynchon, Shadow Ticket, Jonathan Cape, page 32:
    • There was an auto salesman in here yesterday that claimed you could always tell a fellow's class by the car he drove, but I says to him, 'Don't be silly,' I says; 'the wisenheimers grab a look at a fellow's nails when they want to tell if he's a tin-horn or a real gent!"' 1922, Sinclair Lewis, “24”, in Babbitt:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
wisenheimers Number=Plur lexicographic

Synonyms

clever clogs · wisenheimer · know-all · smarty pants · wiseacre · smart aleck · know-it-all · smarty · Buddha · smart ass · wise guy · wise-ass · clever dick · smart aleck · wiseass