wise guys
Mouthy know-it-alls
Wise guys are people who make clever, sarcastic remarks—often annoying ones: Okay, wise guys, which one of you hid my keys?
The term is mildly insulting, suggesting someone thinks they're smarter or funnier than they are.
In a different sense, wise guys are members of organized crime, particularly the Italian-American mafia: The wise guys ran the neighborhood.
- Goodfellas1990 gangster film
- ScarfaceCriminal's disfigurement-based nickname
- gangsterCriminal organization member
- mafiosoOrganized crime syndicate member
- organized crimeStructured illegal enterprise
mob boss · joker · funny guy · smart aleck · smart mouth · Three Stooges · capo · racketeer · mobster · smarty · made man · know-it-alls · enforcer · don · associate · hitman · consigliere · goons
- Italian AmericansItalian Americans, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Frank Sinatra, Martin Scorsese
- Italian tropesItalian heritage, famiglia, vendetta, honor codes, old country
- thugsthugs, goons, heavies, toughs, brutes
wise guysstraight shooters
Forthright, honest individuals
straight arrows · teacher's pets · yes-men · conformists · squares
wise guyswallflowers
Timid party attendees
shrinking violets · straight shooters · innocents · naifs · sweethearts
wise guysstraight arrows
Conventional, upstanding people
civilians · squares · good guys · regular folks · suckers