smart off
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English
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
[edit]smart off (third-person singular simple present smarts off, present participle smarting off, simple past and past participle smarted off)
- (slang, intransitive) To show disrespect verbally; to smartmouth.
- 2002, Ken Lockette, "Surviving the Soviet Legacy, in A World of Teaching: Personal Journeys Through the World's English-Speaking Classrooms, eds. John A. Hansen, Evan M. Smith, page 44
- He despised being away from the rest of the student body and would occasionally act out in defiance by smarting off or by being uncooperative.
- 2005, Jack Myers, Row House Days: Tales from a Southwest Philadelphia Childhood, page 264:
- It's not my job to straighten out his every mess, especially since he seems to like playing the wise guy and smarting off every chance he gets.
- 2002, Ken Lockette, "Surviving the Soviet Legacy, in A World of Teaching: Personal Journeys Through the World's English-Speaking Classrooms, eds. John A. Hansen, Evan M. Smith, page 44