It happened near the kitchen stove.
We were having a quiet evening at home when the thought struck me. Lindsay was at the table—cutting up colored paper and sizing down photos for a scrapbook—and I was in the kitchen—ripping hunks of cold turkey off our Thanksgiving carcass and eating them—when I realized, Men and women are really different.*
It's moments such as these, accumulated over a lifetime, that gradually coalesce into something called gender sensitivi-uh, wisdom.
* And no, for you smart-alecs out there, this wasn’t the first time this realization has struck me. And a word on "smart alec": Was Alec a person, that he was so smart? I mean, why the glowing testimonial? I've known a few Alecs, and none of them seemed to justify this handle. Where did this phrase come from? And since we're on the topic (not really) of gender differences, why not a "smart alexis?" And then, to address another important question, why shouldn't the phrase be adapted for our times? I mean, how about a "smart rushbo?"...really, any brilliant person with a two-syllable name could fill the slot. A "smart stanley"...or "smart lauren"...but two-syllable names beginning with a would be especially suitable. I suppose you may know where I'm going with this...
Monday, December 20, 2004
Moment of Truth
Subscribe to:
or 
or
6 comments:
I think it's just a more polite way to say "smart ass." And I hope you are not offended by my use of the word. I always think it refers primarily to the donkey variety when used in this sense. My guess would be that since donkeys are not very smart, it's an oxymoron to prove a point that the donkey thinks he's being clever or witty, when in reality he's the only one hee-hawing. :p
of course it has everything to do with "smart ass."
N. is perfectly correct in the reference to the donkey. If you think about insults in general, all of them are characterized as insults due to their misapprobation of words. In fact, Confucianism has as one of its chief tenets the "rectification of names." Whenever you affix a title to something that it obviously doesn't fit, you have attached a new and naturally incongruous meaning to it. I'll stop now, cause this sort of thing is boring and I've probably already been a bit of a smart ass ;)
Cheers and merry Christmas :)
Mmmm, cold hunks of turkey....
What became of your vocabulary reclamation project?
Ninja, Tim, if what you're telling me is true, then "smart alec" must be a relatively recent term, since it would have to be predated by the "smart ass" label. So much for ancient origins steeped in mystery. *sigh* I'll have to find a different topic for my etymology research paper next semester... ;)
Bagel, surprising how good cold turkey can be, especially straight off the bone!
And yes, the infamous Vocabulary Reclamation Project. Thanks for the question, Norma. I guess the VRP has fallen on hard times. It still exists, a quiet presence demanding verbal justice and clever elucidation...but it's gone underground over the last semester, due to time constraints. However, your query is needling me toward a relaunch. At the very least, maybe I can revive the interaction between BitterSweetLife and the VRP. I don't know if anyone else found it humorous, but I used to get a kick out of attaching a footnote to sufficiently "piquant and mesmeric words" - This word appeared in association with the Vocabulary Reclamation Project. Anyway.
I think this reply is long enough now.
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.
...that's from dictionary.com.
maybe now it refers to "alex p. keaton" ...from the old sitcom "family ties," he fits that description, and that of a smart ass.
Post a Comment