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Hello guys! Add me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hotforwords My website http://hotforwords.com/ Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/hotforwords Hello my dear students! I'm all dressed up because tonight I'm going to meet an old friend. But between you and me, I'm absolutely dreading it. This guy is so cocky, he's such a smart alec! Isn't it the worst to be around someone who's an obnoxious know-it-all? Unfortunately being a smart alec isn't a crime... at least not anymore! Many believe that the phrase "smart Alec" originated from an incredible con artist named Alexander Hoag, who went by "Alec" for short. Alec ran a scandalous scam in New York during the 1940s. He offered up his wife as a prostitute, and then when his wife was, ahem, with a client, Alec would sneak into their room through a hidden panel in the wall, and take off with the gentleman's pocketbook, watch and other valuables! And to make matters worse, he paid off the cops so that they wouldn't help the victim! Eventually, Alec got greedy and stopped paying off the police. So what do you think happened next? That's right, he got busted and went to jail. While in jail, he met a newspaper editor named George Wilkes, who immortalized his incredible story by writing it down. So we believe it was either Wilkes, or the police, who started calling Hoag "smart Alec" because he got a bit too clever for his own good. Today, we use the term "smart Alec" to describe anyone who is overly self-confident, or pretentious about their own cleverness. So for your homework, have there ever been any times when you've been too clever for your own good? Or when being a smart Alec got you into trouble? If so, let me know in the comments!