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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary

People who are smart allecks about semantics

I'm looking for a term, like "noncomformist," to describe someone who acts like a sarcastic smart alleck about semantics where they are instructed to do something literal, intepret it as the literal meaning, when everyone, including said smart alleck, knows that that is not the intended meaning. For example, the people occupying Oakland are pitching stick teepees because they're told not to pitch tents, when the meaning is is that they should leave, not pitch teepees instead of tents. What term best suits these people?
  

Top answer

"Smart Alec" is the typical term. Put it in a thesaurus to find synonyms. The phrase I would use isn't something I should post here.

— Vorpar

  • "Smart Alec" is the typical term.
  • Put it in a thesaurus to find synonyms.
  • The phrase I would use isn't something I should post here.
  • It also starts with "smart".
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2 Answers
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"Smart Alec" is the typical term. Put it in a thesaurus to find synonyms. The phrase I would use isn't something I should post here. It also starts with "smart".
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AnonymousWhat term best suits these people?
I'm afraid the first thing that comes to mind is unprintable!
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