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Wisenheimer and More "Wise" Words
We wouldn't joke around about the origin of this witty word. In the early 20th century, someone had the smart idea to combine the adjective wise (one sense of which means "insolent, smart-alecky, or fresh") with -enheimer, playing on the pattern of family names such as Oppenheimer and Guggenheimer. Of course, wisenheimer isn't the only "wise-" word for someone who jokes around. There's also wiseacre, wisecracker, and wise guy. All of these jokesters are fond of making wisecracks.
Synonyms
Examples of wisenheimer in a Sentence
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023
Stan is a bit of a wisenheimer, and Sandler puts his natural yappiness to good use.
—Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wisenheimer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Wisenheimer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wisenheimer. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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