Word: aleck
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Dates: during 1920-1929
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...Aleck...
Some days ago the New York Herald Tribune characterized H. L. Mencken as a "Professional Smart Aleck," a phrase which aptly describes those who write such stuff as "Came an eagle" and "a rival musnud of learning" in TIME, April 12, pp. 33, 34... Let me remind you that this sort of thing has been going on for two* years, and...ceases to be funny...
...Mencken is mixed with a considerable amount of business acumen. . . . He has made his living for years by smart jibes at the common mind. Nothing is easier to write than this form of humor. He is completely alien to America. . . the penny-dreadful of the intelligentsia. . . a professional smart-Aleck...
That is an excellent example of what is known as " Smart Aleck" writing...
...beautiful friendship, but there is no bunk about this sort of thing at Harvard. The chances are against, rather than in favor of, the outsider getting inside,--as they are everywhere else. But that in itself may be a valuable factor in the undergraduate's development. The "Smart Aleck" may well be disappointed at the impression he creates or the enthusiasm he arouses, yet he may learn in consequence to behave more like a gentleman. Such persons may be prejudiced against Harvard bfore they come as well as afterwards, but it is an excellent reason for their going there...