The English Oracle

An idiom to describe someone who thinks he/she is wiser than others

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Track title: Peaceful Mind

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Chapters
00:00 An Idiom To Describe Someone Who Thinks He/She Is Wiser Than Others
00:22 Accepted Answer Score 16
00:45 Answer 2 Score 10
01:06 Answer 3 Score 13
01:53 Answer 4 Score 3
02:02 Thank you

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Full question
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Tags
#idioms #phraserequests #pejorativelanguage

#avk47



ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 16


In English, a common term for such a person is "know-it-all", as in:

Ever since Bob took that first-year philosophy course, he's acting like such a know-it-all.

Usually the phrase has a slightly negative connotation to it, because it implies that the person really doesn't know it all, but they might act arrogant as if they do know it all.




ANSWER 2

Score 13


There are numerous amusing English terms for such a person, including
wiseacre (“One who feigns knowledge or cleverness; an insolent upstart”),
smarty-pants (“A smart aleck or know-it-all”),
clever dick (“(chiefly UK) A person who annoyingly tries too hard to impress with their cleverness”),
smart aleck (“One who is pretentious about their own cleverness or knowledge; a know-it-all”, but also with senses “One who is obnoxiously self-assured; a show off” and “One who is given to obnoxious or insolent humor; a wise guy”).

Some terms related to the above, but with slightly different meanings, include
wiseass (“One who makes wisecracks, particularly in a sassy or cocky fashion”),
smartass (“(slang) One who is particularly insolent, who tends to make snide remarks or jokes”).




ANSWER 3

Score 10


Though "know-it-all" is my #1 go-to phrase for that meaning, another expression with a smart-alecky negative connotation would be to refer to someone as "Einstein", as in:

"Einstein, here, has all the answers!"

Of course, the reference would be to Albert Einstein, the theoretical physicist:

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ANSWER 4

Score 3


How about: "He[she] is full of himself[herself]"? That's a pretty common English idiom.