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Smart   Listen
adjective
Smart  adj.  (compar. smarter; superl. smartest)  
1.
Causing a smart; pungent; pricking; as, a smart stroke or taste. "How smart lash that speech doth give my conscience."
2.
Keen; severe; poignant; as, smart pain.
3.
Vigorous; sharp; severe. "Smart skirmishes, in which many fell."
4.
Accomplishing, or able to accomplish, results quickly; active; sharp; clever. (Colloq.)
5.
Efficient; vigorous; brilliant. "The stars shine smarter."
6.
Marked by acuteness or shrewdness; quick in suggestion or reply; vivacious; witty; as, a smart reply; a smart saying. "Who, for the poor renown of being smart Would leave a sting within a brother's heart?" "A sentence or two,... which I thought very smart."
7.
Pretentious; showy; spruce; as, a smart gown.
8.
Brisk; fresh; as, a smart breeze.
Smart money.
(a)
Money paid by a person to buy himself off from some unpleasant engagement or some painful situation.
(b)
(Mil.) Money allowed to soldiers or sailors, in the English service, for wounds and injures received; also, a sum paid by a recruit, previous to being sworn in, to procure his release from service.
(c)
(Law) Vindictive or exemplary damages; damages beyond a full compensation for the actual injury done.
Smart ticket, a certificate given to wounded seamen, entitling them to smart money. (Eng.)
Synonyms: Pungent; poignant; sharp; tart; acute; quick; lively; brisk; witty; clever; keen; dashy; showy. Smart, Clever. Smart has been much used in New England to describe a person who is intelligent, vigorous, and active; as, a smart young fellow; a smart workman, etc., conciding very nearly with the English sense of clever. The nearest approach to this in England is in such expressions as, he was smart (pungent or witty) in his reply, etc.; but smart and smartness, when applied to persons, more commonly refer to dress; as, a smart appearance; a smart gown, etc.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Smart" Quotes from Famous Books



... better car in every way," he said flatly. "Strongly built, low hung, smart-looking, and ...
— Eve to the Rescue • Ethel Hueston

... bustled back to the table, "there are things that you want to know, and that you are going to know—from me and from these two gentlemen. Mr. Stobb—Mr. Leykin. Both ex-Scotland Yard men, and now in business for themselves as private inquiry agents. Smart fellows—though I say ...
— The Borough Treasurer • Joseph Smith Fletcher

... God west of the Missouri" is everywhere manifest. The "almighty dollar" is the true divinity, and its worship is universal. "Smartness" is the quality thought most of. The boy who "gets on" by cheating at his lessons is praised for being a "smart boy," and his satisfied parents foretell that he will make a "smart man." A man who overreaches his neighbor, but who does it so cleverly that the law cannot take hold of him, wins an envied reputation ...
— A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains • Isabella L. Bird

... was highly imprudent. But Hannay was often imprudent. Smart and sly in a certain way, she was equally thoughtless in other matters. The query so sudden, so abrupt, and so uncalled for must, she ought to have foreseen, look extremely suspicious. And yet Okoya was on the point of answering, "She was at our ...
— The Delight Makers • Adolf Bandelier

... questions all 'bout what dey had done larned dat day and, 'cause she was so proud of evvy little scrap of book larnin' she could pick up, de white chillun larned her how to read and write too. All de larnin' she ever had she got from de white chillun at de big house, and she was so smart at gittin' 'em to larn her dat atter de war was over she got to be a school teacher. Long 'fore dat time, one of dem white chillun got married and tuk Mammy wid her to her new home ...
— Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States - Volume II. Arkansas Narratives. Part I • Work Projects Administration

... rebosos and bead rosaries, nothing was omitted. In one part of the market the sturdy rancheros were drinking pulque and devouring hot cakes; in another, little boys were bargaining for nuts and bananas; countrywomen were offering low prices for smart rebosos; an Indian woman was recommending a comb, with every term of endearment, to a young country-girl, who seemed perfectly ignorant of its use, assuring her customer that it was an instrument for unravelling the hair, and making it beautiful and shining, and enforcing ...
— Life in Mexico • Frances Calderon de la Barca

... teaching her to ride, and Norma was radiant and sun-browned in her riding-trousers and skirted coat, her cloud of hair loosened, and her smart little hat in one hand. Chris, like all well-built men, was always at his best in sports clothes; the head of his favourite mare looked mildly over his shoulder. Behind the group stretched the exquisite reaches of bridle-path, the great trees heavy ...
— The Beloved Woman • Kathleen Norris

... stirred Barnaby was one of extreme and profound amazement. Then the thought came into his mind that some witty fellow, of whom he knew a good many in that town—and wild, waggish pranks they were—was attempting to play off some smart jest upon him. But all that Miss Eliza could tell him when he questioned her concerning the messenger was that the bearer of the note was a tall, stout man, with a red neckerchief around his neck and copper buckles to his shoes, and that he had ...
— Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates • Howard I. Pyle

... and up the hill to Hayes Common, which having gained, spurs are applied, and any slight degree of pursiness that the good steeds may have acquired by standing at livery in Cripplegate, or elsewhere, is speedily pumped out of them by a smart brush over the turf, to the "Fox," at Keston, where a numerous assemblage of true sportsmen patiently await the usual hour for throwing off. At length time being called, say twenty minutes to eleven, and Mr. Jorrocks, ...
— Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jollities • Robert Smith Surtees

... after resuming their march, the footprints of the camel could be traced in the direction they wished to go; but gradually they became less perceptible, until at length they were lost altogether. A smart breeze had been blowing, which had filled the tracks with sand, which was ...
— The Boy Slaves • Mayne Reid

... altogether, nor brought to a conclusion. Besides, other wars were threatening either at the moment, as from the Aequans and Volscians, who remained inactive no longer than was necessary, to allow the recent smart of their late disaster to pass away, or at no distant date, as it was evident that the Sabines, ever hostile, and all Etruria would soon begin to stir up war: but the Veientines, a constant rather than a formidable enemy, kept their minds in a state of perpetual uneasiness by petty annoyances ...
— Roman History, Books I-III • Titus Livius

... feller what wanted me ter sign the book says; Leave the key and saddle bags with me. I says, says I, You can have the key but no man gits holt of them saddle bags. It's a good thing I brung them erlong, fer I never did find that place ergin. I went erbout a quarter, when I met a smart feller and he says ter me; Old man, where're you gwinter show! I says right here, by gad! and I run my hand into them saddle bags and brung out my cap and ball. That feller shore broke the wind, he showed some speed. ...
— Chit-Chat; Nirvana; The Searchlight • Mathew Joseph Holt

... not quite finished his toilet, for he had a kind of boyish vanity, and wished to show how well and smart he could look after the long, tiresome journey. But Stephen was ready, and he stepped out, closing the door ...
— The Golden Silence • C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson

... of reorganising our commandos and weeding out the traitors we were allowed little rest by the enemy, and once we suddenly found them marching up from Helvetia in our direction. A smart body of men, chiefly composed of Lydenburg and Middelburg men, and under the command of a newly-appointed officer, Captain Du Toit, went to meet the enemy between Bakendorp and Dullstroom. Here ensued a fierce fight, where we lost some men, but succeeded in arresting ...
— My Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War • Ben Viljoen

... two or three faces can be rendered happy and contented, by a trifling improvement of outward appearance, I cannot help thinking that the object is very cheaply purchased, even at the expense of a smart gown, or a gaudy riband. There is a great deal of very unnecessary cant about the over- dressing of the common people. There is not a manufacturer or tradesman in existence, who would not employ a man who takes a reasonable degree of pride in the appearance ...
— Sunday Under Three Heads • Charles Dickens

... gambling of old ladies nor hoyden chattering and romping of young ones; no self-satisfied struttings of wealthy gentlemen with their brains in their pockets nor amusing conceits and monkey divertisements of smart young gentlemen with no brains at ...
— Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year • E.C. Hartwell

... "The Philharmonic Society in London presented to him.....a magnificent grand-piano forte of Broadwood's manufacture." Schindler says expressly, "Presented by Ferd. Ries, John Cramer, and Sir George Smart." Cannot Marx ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 30, April, 1860 • Various

... pierced for 64 guns, but mounting only 22, and having eight companies of land forces on board—fell in with the Dunkirk, Captain Howe, and the Defiance, Captain Andrews, two 60-gun ships of the English squadron, and were, both of them, after a smart engagement, in which Captain (afterwards Lord) Howe behaved with the greatest skill and intrepidity, taken, with about L8,000 on board. Though this action was far from answering the grand destination of the fleet, yet when the news reached England it was of infinite service to the public credit ...
— The Loyalists of America and Their Times, Vol. 1 of 2 - From 1620-1816 • Egerton Ryerson

... Reports were made, but as we have shown they did not find their way into the war department. No copies were retained, so there is a hiatus in the record. There are numerous cases of a similar kind. Some officers, there is reason to believe, were smart enough to seek and were given the opportunity to ...
— Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman - With Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War • J. H. (James Harvey) Kidd

... the swing, Georgina clasping the skinned elbow which had begun to smart. She climbed into one seat of the swing and Richard and Captain Kidd took the other. As they swung back and forth she demanded in ...
— Georgina of the Rainbows • Annie Fellows Johnston

... of such prodigious length, It pierced the feeble volume through, And deep transfix'd her bosom too. Some lines, more moving than the rest, Stuck to the point that pierced her breast, And, borne directly to the heart, With pains unknown increased her smart. Vanessa, not in years a score, Dreams of a gown of forty-four; Imaginary charms can find In eyes with reading almost blind: Cadenus now no more appears Declined in health, advanced in years. She fancies music in his tongue; ...
— Poems (Volume II.) • Jonathan Swift

... round the running water, as the country is very dry on both sides of the river, it follows that this fine stream proceeds from springs in the immediate neighbourhood. We left the rapids to return to camp at 3.22 p.m. at a smart walk. At 4.10 we made two miles and a half to a tree in a narrow pass, which we marked with a broad arrow between E. L. At 4.20 started again, and at 4.40 made one mile to Campbell's Tower; then at 5.9 two miles and a half to a pillar 40 feet high. At 6.14 two miles ...
— Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from Carpentaria - In search of Burke and Wills • William Landsborough

... the bride, we had met a little, stout man of about twenty-five or thirty years, who considered himself superior to the other people, and who variously attempted to make himself familiar. At several times during our measuring and bust-making, he had hung around, making smart remarks, but we had never invited him to submit to measure, as he did not seem to be a really full-blood indian. He had made a nuisance of himself, but, finally, one day, when he was standing in the crowd, which was looking on, ...
— In Indian Mexico (1908) • Frederick Starr

... some folks there thet seemed to think this sort o' talk was mighty funny an' smart. Some o' the mothers acchilly giggled over it out loud, they was so mightily tickled. But Sonny he thess stood his ground an' waited. Most any boy o' his age would 'a' got flustered, but he didn't. He thess glanced around unconcerned at all the people ...
— Sonny, A Christmas Guest • Ruth McEnery Stuart

... was laughing too. "You ain't so smart as you THINK you are, are you!" he jeered at them good-naturedly. Then he started, yelling "WHOA there!" to his horses, which had begun to walk on. He had to run after them with all his might, and just climbed into the ...
— Understood Betsy • Dorothy Canfield

... Brer Fox lif' up his foot en holler wahoo! en Brer Rabbit he tear out de house like de dogs wuz atter 'im. Brer Wolf mighty smart, but nex' time you hear fum 'im, honey, he'll be in trouble. You des hol' yo' ...
— Uncle Remus • Joel Chandler Harris

... very disagreeable affairs at Bordeaux. Four years before, the Duc d'Epernon, then governor of Guyenne, followed by all his train and by his troops, meeting him among his clergy in a procession, had called him an insolent fellow, and given him two smart blows with his cane; whereupon the Archbishop had excommunicated him. And again, recently, despite this lesson, he had quarrelled with the Marechal de Vitry, from whom he had received "twenty blows ...
— Serge Panine • Georges Ohnet

... way that could mean only one thing, and he knew Satan was near, although it was too dark to see him. He came to us, and we walked along together, and Seppi poured out his gladness like water. It was as if he were a lover and had found his sweetheart who had been lost. Seppi was a smart and animated boy, and had enthusiasm and expression, and was a contrast to Nikolaus and me. He was full of the last new mystery, now—the disappearance of Hans Oppert, the village loafer. People were beginning to be curious about it, he said. He did not say anxious—curious was the right ...
— The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories • Mark Twain

... at morn and even the cows come lowing past them, the village maidens chatter merrily round the fountains, and babble like the ever-voluble stream that flows under the old walls. The schoolboys, with book and satchel, in smart uniforms, march up to the gymnasium, and return thence at their stated time. There is one coffee-house in the town, and I see one old gentleman goes to it. There are shops with no customers seemingly, and the lazy tradesmen ...
— Roundabout Papers • William Makepeace Thackeray

... father's mill, but never strained his back. He was healthy, needlessly healthy, and was as smart as his brothers and sisters, but no smarter, and no better looking. He was exceedingly self-contained, and would sit and dream at his desk in the grammar-school, looking out straight in front ...
— Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 4 (of 14) - Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Painters • Elbert Hubbard

... festooned the hanging lamp; Virginia creeper crept over the cloth. Even the joint was decked out with wine-red leaves, until it looked like a ship flying all her flags on the King's birthday. Amid all this pomp and ceremony, I sat all alone, without a human being for whom I might have made myself smart. I, who for the last twenty years, have never even dressed the salad without at least one pair of eyes watching me toss the lettuce as though I was performing some ...
— The Dangerous Age • Karin Michaelis

... eyesight. Jill had provided a solution for the great problem of his life. Marriage had always appalled him, but there was this to be said for it, that married people had daughters. He had always wanted a daughter, a smart girl he could take out and be proud of; and fate had given him Jill at precisely the right age. A child would have bored Uncle Chris—he was fond of children, but they made the deuce of a noise and ...
— The Little Warrior - (U.K. Title: Jill the Reckless) • P. G. Wodehouse

... of an old print of the Madonna. It had been framed and hung up as an ornament, I suppose, Heaven knows when; and by- and-by some smart Aleck came along and thought the mother and child superior as a work of art and slapped it into the frame over the deed, and there it has hung for ...
— Stories of Modern French Novels • Julian Hawthorne

... rifle on the snow and took the ramrod in his right hand. He thrust his left hand into the hole, and when the rabbit leaped for life from his warm nest a smart blow of the ramrod stretched him dead at the feet of the hunter. Henry picked up the rabbit. It was large and yet fat. Here was food for two meals. In the race between the ankle and ...
— The Scouts of the Valley • Joseph A. Altsheler

... himself smart. Hooking one of his antennae towards him with one of his free claws, he takes it between his mandibles in order to curl it and moisten it with saliva. With his long hind legs, spurred and laced with red, he stamps with impatience and kicks out ...
— Social Life in the Insect World • J. H. Fabre

... place between them, when the slave was retaken the third time. In this dialogue, the whole argument in behalf of slavery was brought forward by the master, all of which was disposed of by the slave. The slave was made to say some very smart as well as impressive things in reply to his master—things which had the desired though unexpected effect; for the conversation resulted in the voluntary emancipation of the slave on the part ...
— The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - An American Slave • Frederick Douglass

... horse), it is worthy of remark, states, that at an early period of his own life, two young ladies of good family, then residing near Ipswich, in the same county, "were in the constant habit of riding about the country, in their smart doe-skins, great coats, and flapped ...
— The Young Lady's Equestrian Manual • Anonymous

... regular spindle-shanks. And just look at that fool Akoulna. Wasn't the girl a regular untidy slattern, and just look at her now! Where has it all come from? Yes, he has fitted her out. She's grown so smart, so puffed up, just like a bubble that's ready to burst. And, though she's a fool, she's got it into her head. "I'm the mistress," she says; "the house is mine; it's me father wanted him to marry." And she's that vicious! Lord help us, when she gets into a rage she's ready to tear ...
— Redemption and Two Other Plays • Leo Tolstoy et al

... of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, which, if I may shelter myself behind the authority of the Times[2] reviewer, does not err on the side of dignity, moderation and scholarship. It is said to be jaunty, perky, off-hand, suggestive of "the smart evening journalist"—this last is very serious—and, worse than all, it is an appeal, not to theologians or scholars, nor even to thoughtful and instructed ...
— Morality as a Religion - An exposition of some first principles • W. R. Washington Sullivan

... touch the poor fellow's things." The sight of the smart, stubby patent leather made her almost feel faint. She had known Rickie for many years, but it seemed so dreadful and so different now that he was a man. It was her first great contact with the abnormal, and unknown fibres of her being rose in revolt against it. She frowned when she ...
— The Longest Journey • E. M. Forster

... nation, welcoming back the prodigal, and installing him in his place amongst his brethren. This was all forest once. Under the shade of the mighty oaks here those gallant O'Caharneys your ancestors followed the chase, or rested at noontide, or skedaddled in double-quick before those smart English of the Pale, who I must say treated ...
— Lord Kilgobbin • Charles Lever

... blushes, admits that his hand can amble for his hip right smart. Whereupon the amiable-appearin' gent makes some sort of comment, just what no one ever knew, but it seems tolerable superfluous an' sarcastic, an' instantaneous there's two shots. When the smoke clears away ...
— The Boy With the U. S. Foresters • Francis Rolt-Wheeler

... to himself with great glee, 'Live beef, live beef!' It was upon this evidence that the wisest people in Windsor (beginning with the local authorities of course) held that John Podgers was a man of strong, sound sense, not what is called smart, perhaps, and it might be of a rather lazy and apoplectic turn, but still a man of solid parts, and one who meant much more than he cared to show. This impression was confirmed by a very dignified way he had of shaking his head and ...
— Master Humphrey's Clock • Charles Dickens

... some of them running their Hands into their Pockets as far as ever they can thrust them, and others looking with great Attention on a piece of Paper that has nothing written in it; you may see many a smart Rhetorician turning his Hat in his Hands, moulding it into several different Cocks, examining sometimes the Lining of it, and sometimes the Button, during the whole course of his Harangue. A deaf Man would think he was Cheap'ning a Beaver, when ...
— The Spectator, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 - With Translations and Index for the Series • Joseph Addison and Richard Steele

... sincerity we recognize and respect, but occasionally I find young men who think it smart to be skeptical; they talk as if it were an evidence of larger intelligence to scoff at creeds and to refuse to connect themselves with churches. They call themselves "Liberal," as if a Christian were narrow minded. Some go so far as to assert that the "advanced ...
— The Art of Public Speaking • Dale Carnagey (AKA Dale Carnegie) and J. Berg Esenwein

... the dwarf raised his hand to his brow for the smart, Ere the iron well out was beat, And they found that the haft by an inch was too short, But to alter ...
— Myths of the Norsemen - From the Eddas and Sagas • H. A. Guerber

... tufted with cow's-tail—rushed in exultingly, having found, to their delight, that there was no one left to fight with, and that they had gained an easy victory. They were certainly a wild set of ragamuffins—as different as possible from the smart, well-dressed, quick-of-speech Waganda as could be, and anything but prepossessing to our eyes. However, they had done their work, and I offered them a cow, wishing to have it shot before them; but the chief men, probably wishing the whole animal ...
— The Discovery of the Source of the Nile • John Hanning Speke

... relief. It was so important that her identity should remain a secret. As daughter of a Supreme Court judge she had to be most careful. She would not embarrass her father for anything in the world. But it was smart of Jefferson to have sent Ryder, Sr., the book, so she smiled graciously on ...
— The Lion and The Mouse - A Story Of American Life • Charles Klein

... Tarleton] Oh! is Hypatia your daughter? And Joey is Mister Percival, is he? One of your set, I suppose. One of the smart set! One of the bridge-playing, eighty-horse-power, week-ender set! One of the johnnies I slave for! Well, Joey has more decency than your daughter, anyhow. The women are the worst. I never believed it til I saw it with my own eyes. Well, it wont last for ever. ...
— Misalliance • George Bernard Shaw

... you smart for this," he stormed, and caught Jack firmly by both arms. "Garder! Mason! ...
— Young Captain Jack - The Son of a Soldier • Horatio Alger and Arthur M. Winfield

... matter, most of them were privileged guests for the reception. They had been bidden to a festive afternoon, a theatre had been specially chartered for the evening, with a dance to follow. This was one of the smart functions of ...
— The Slave of Silence • Fred M. White

... lads, be smart," cried Newton, as he sprang aft to the wheel, and put up the helm; "man the flying jib-halyards (the jib was under the forefoot); let go the main-top bowling; square the main-yard. That will do; she's paying off. Man your guns; ...
— Newton Forster - The Merchant Service • Captain Frederick Marryat

... a bold fellow anyhow, and after the smart way in which you disposed of this Jew, and possessed yourself of his purse, you will do honour ...
— A Jacobite Exile - Being the Adventures of a Young Englishman in the Service of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden • G. A. Henty

... plates and saucers in the neat and noiseless manner which was particularly her own, preparatory to carrying them all on a tray out to the little scullery adjoining the kitchen, which with its well polished saucepans, kettles, and crockery was quite a smart feature of her small ...
— The Treasure of Heaven - A Romance of Riches • Marie Corelli

... orders coming in from nowhere, he told himself it would be good to know at all times where Ranjoor Singh's charger was, as well as a service to Ranjoor Singh to stable the brute comfortably. He told himself that was a very smart move, and one for which Ranjoor Singh would some day thank ...
— Winds of the World • Talbot Mundy

... quarrels, like Churchill's Rosciad, toward broadly unimpeachable morals, like Johnson's The Vanity of Human Wishes. It is understandable that many writers, such as Joseph Warton and Christopher Smart, abandoned satire for ...
— The Methodist - A Poem • Evan Lloyd

... fatal dart Shot me through and made me smart, So I pray, before we part, Kiss me once, ...
— The Princess of the School • Angela Brazil

... profound silence, without the least clashing of arms or other noise, and be in readiness to march. He ordered M. le Borgne, an officer in the colonial troops, to remain on the island with a detachment of forty men, to keep up a smart fire from our battery, which consisted of seven or eight pieces of cannon, during the time we were employed in passing the river, in order to hinder the English from hearing us in our operations, and to continue firing whilst ammunition ...
— The Campaign of 1760 in Canada - A Narrative Attributed to Chevalier Johnstone • Chevalier Johnstone

... now in words you seem to pretend; but, as you were told the other day, actions must expound intentions; yet actions have been clean contrary. And truly, Sir, it doth appear plainly enough to them, that you have gone upon very erroneous principles: The kingdom hath felt it to their smart; and it will be no case to you to think of it; for, Sir, you have held yourself, and let fall such language, as if you had been no way subject to the Law, or that the law had not been your superior. ...
— State Trials, Political and Social - Volume 1 (of 2) • Various

... smart enough to come this way, victorious," added the man, straightforwardly, "instead of being out-generalled, whipped, and driven, I should enjoy the loss of my property ...
— Campaigns of a Non-Combatant, - and His Romaunt Abroad During the War • George Alfred Townsend

... He's a smart Aleck and talks too much, anyhow. He made a mistake, that's all. Now I tell you, Mister, I'm goin' to East Wellmouth myself. Course I don't make a business of carryin' passengers and this trip is goin' to be some out of my way. Gasoline and ile are pretty expensive these days, ...
— Galusha the Magnificent • Joseph C. Lincoln

... the fierce bear, made fiercer by the smart Of the bold Lybian's mortal guided dart, Turns round upon the wound, and the tough spear Contorted o'er her breast ...
— The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VII (of X)—Continental Europe I • Various

... Turks! That all? I tell you that two empires Will set in blood, in the East and in the West, And Lutherism alone remain. [Observing GORDON and BUTLER. I'faith, 'Twas a smart cannonading that we heard This evening, as we journeyed hitherward: 'Twas on our left hand. Did ye ...
— The Works of Frederich Schiller in English • Frederich Schiller

... senior officer came to smart attention, saluted crisply, turned, and left the office. For the time being, the mysterious trouble on ...
— The Revolt on Venus • Carey Rockwell

... smart ACCOLADE," said the Duchess; "we who stood behind heard the blade clatter on his collar-bone, and the poor man fidgeted too ...
— Kenilworth • Sir Walter Scott

... is a good-lookin' lad," went on Miranda. "It must take him an awful waste of time to fix his clothes every time he puts 'em on. I don't know how smart he is inside, but he's got some of them movin'-picture heroes beat on appearance. I'm wonderin' what Molly thinks about him. As for his father, he's smart enough inside an' out. But he talks too much like a politician ...
— Rimrock Trail • J. Allan Dunn

... me a good lawyer. Send him to me. I won't use a smart one whose business is to help crooks escape. If he doesn't believe in me, I don't want him. I'll have him get the names of all those pulled in the raid and visit them to see if he can't find some one who heard the shots or saw shooting. Then there's ...
— The Big-Town Round-Up • William MacLeod Raine

... benignity cheers us." So said Hephaestus, and sprang from his place, and a plentiful goblet Reach'd to the hand of his mother, and thus, as she took it, address'd her:— "Patience! my mother! whatever the smart, be it borne with submission. Dear as thou art to my soul, let it never be mine to behold thee Under his chastising hand, for, however my will might incline me, Service were none—the Olympian's grasp is not easy to strive with. ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 367, May 1846 • Various

... that of flinging him from his seat; and Lafontaine, with the genuine fondness of a Gaul for excitement of all kinds, seemed wonderfully amused as we swept along. But our new rival was evidently in the same condition with our own Jehu, and after a smart horsewhipping of each other, they rushed forward at full speed. A sudden scream from within the other carriage showed the terror of its inmates, as it dashed along; an old woman in full dress, however, was all that I could discover; for we were fairly distanced in the ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 54, No. 335, September 1843 • Various

... pity!" said Rose; "for she's a smart, bright little thing; and it's cunning to hear her ...
— Pink and White Tyranny - A Society Novel • Harriet Beecher Stowe

... to the chapel itself, a scent of carrion makes you start. You look, against the will of your smart and ostentatious guide, through a half-open door, and see another sight—a room, dark and foul, mildewed and ruinous; and, swept carelessly into a corner, a heap of dirt, rags, bones, waifs and strays of every kind, decaying ...
— All Saints' Day and Other Sermons • Charles Kingsley

... the little colored children in this Southland. In my department there are over ninety bright, enthusiastic little folks between the ages of five and thirteen. I have often wished that the anxious inquirers as to whether the colored children were as bright and smart intellectually as white ones, could visit my room, and the little people ...
— The American Missionary, Vol. 43, No. 7, July, 1889 • Various

... very smart new one; the names of the proprietors, I need hardly tell you, were Italian, Foresta and Calpigi. The Toby dog was there, as I had been led to expect. All B—— turned out, but did not obstruct my view, for I was at the large first-floor ...
— A Thin Ghost and Others • M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James

... giving him soon afterward an interest in the business. Here he stayed until nearly twenty-four years old. Mr. Morton immediately engaged a stylish tailor from Boston, W.H. Gibbs, or as all called him, "Bill Gibbs," whose skill at making even cheap suits look smart brought him a large patronage from the college students. Once a whole graduating class were supplied with dress suits from this artist. Mr. Morton had a most interesting store, sunny and scrupulously clean, with everything anyone could ask for, and few ever went out ...
— Memories and Anecdotes • Kate Sanborn

... "thou thinkest thyself mighty wise, and art but a fool. Mind thou my charge touching this fellow; there is more in him than thy Westmoreland wit can fathom.—And thou, smart and silent, prepare to perform the feat thou hast promised, and, by the word of a King, thou shalt choose thine own ...
— The Talisman • Sir Walter Scott

... into her chair at the table and dropping her hat upon the floor at her side. "I couldn't have planned anything nicer than this. Kitty and Arnold often have parties with us, but it will be much better having you and Jimmy. He looks very smart in his uniform." ...
— Eve to the Rescue • Ethel Hueston

... over and sit down beside me, Grace. I want to tell you everything," she said. "Last year I was perfectly horrid to you and that little Pierson girl, for no earthly reason either, I thought it was smart to annoy you and torment you. After we had the quarrel that day in the gymnasium, I was really angry with you, and determined to pay ...
— Grace Harlowe's Sophomore Year at High School • Jessie Graham Flower

... of the new assailant's movements, and, before he could raise his pistol,—his only dependence,—it was wrested from him. The new-comer threw the pistol down, and, seizing the attorney by the neck, and applying a smart blow with the knee upon his back, he brought him to the floor. Taking a cord which hung on the cabin wall, he bound the fallen man hand and foot, and dragged him out of the cabin. Placing his back against a tree, he lashed him firmly ...
— Hatchie, the Guardian Slave; or, The Heiress of Bellevue • Warren T. Ashton

... I am contented with all sorrows, & besides hir, I desire no other request but only this, that she may be drawne to my feruent loue, that it may be with vs alike, or that I may be at liberty, for I am no longer able to dissemble my griefe, or hide the extremity of my smart, I die liuing, & liuing am as dead: I delight in that which is my griefe: I go mourning: I consume my self in the flame, & yet the flame doth norish me, & burning like gold in the strong cement, yet I find my self like cold yce. Ah wo is me, that loue should be more greeuous ...
— Hypnerotomachia - The Strife of Loue in a Dreame • Francesco Colonna

... Bessy, with an anxious look at Margaret's print gown, which her Milton eyes appraised at sevenpence a yard. Margaret's face dimpled up into a merry laugh. 'Thank You, Bessy, for thinking so kindly about my looking nice among all the smart people. But I've plenty of grand gowns,—a week ago, I should have said they were far too grand for anything I should ever want again. But as I'm to dine at Mr. Thornton's, and perhaps to meet the mayor, I shall put on my very best ...
— North and South • Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

... farmer, and I own my farm free and clear. I also have two sons, both smart, capable and trustworthy. As I have been a sturdy and uncompromising Democrat all my life, I think the party ought to do something for at least one of my sons, who is fond of politics. Any appointment in one of the Government offices would ...
— The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 4 • Various

... There was nobody to be seen if we hadn't been in a box. Of course no one comes there but stately old farmers and their smart daughters. I saw one with a Gainsborough hat, and a bunch of cock's feathers, with a scarlet cactus cocking it ...
— Modern Broods • Charlotte Mary Yonge

... When in 1542 the insurrection against the salt-tax, commencing at La Rochelle, spread over Saintonge and the whole of Western Guyenne, the Libournais threw themselves heartily into the movement. When the time of repression came they were made to smart sorely for their turbulent spirit. The Place de l'Hotel de Ville, of which one side remains very much as it was then, bristled with gibbets, and 150 persons were hanged in a single day. The man who had rung the tocsin that called ...
— Two Summers in Guyenne • Edward Harrison Barker

... shall marry Zosia. Otherwise, the horsewhip—to-morrow you shall stand before the altar! And you talk to me of feelings—of an unchanging heart! You are a liar! Foh! I'll look into your case, Pan Thaddeus, I'll make your ears smart for you! I've had enough trouble to-day—till my head aches with it—and now you come to keep me from going to sleep in peace! Now go ...
— Pan Tadeusz • Adam Mickiewicz

... up both hands. "Smart! By dang you've said it! Anythin' in the way o' honest work they do leave to us poor mainland grabbers; they don't unnerstand it; but come a bit o' easy money in the way of wreckage and we might as well stop bed as try to ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, December 8, 1920 • Various

... was a heap married man, but you're some locoed to give yourself away.' That settled Ed. He's some touchy about the way Beulah henpecks him. He lost his spirit. An' now he couldn't play marbles, let alone gol-lof. Nope, Monty was too smart. An' I reckon he was right ...
— The Light of Western Stars • Zane Grey

... left and he'll ride on the right, For the rules of the road caring naught; His lamp he will not take the trouble to light Till a pretty smart lesson he's taught. But lecture and fine him as much as you will, The trail of the ...
— Mr. Punch Awheel - The Humours of Motoring and Cycling • J. A. Hammerton

... took this apartment for you, and gave you money to buy that smart dress and these furs. Bah! mon enfant, why try to deceive me? Do I not know my Paris? A fort bel homme does not make himself guardian to a fort belle fine so young and fair as Mademoiselle Julie Caumartin without certain considerations ...
— The Parisians, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... the holow roote of some steepe rocke, And in that flinty habitation hide, Thy wofull face: from face and view of men. Yet that will tell me this, if naught beside: Pompey was neuer wont his head to hide 80 Flie where thou wilt, thou bearst about thee smart, Shame at thy heeles and greefe lies at thy heart. Tit. But see Titinius where two warriers stand, Casting their eyes downe to the cheareles earthe: Alasse to soone I know them for to bee Pompey and Brutus, who like Aiax stand, When as forsooke of Fortune mong'st his foes, ...
— The Tragedy Of Caesar's Revenge • Anonymous

... say, not a doubt of it. It's a pity, he was as smart a middy as any afloat, so they say. I saw the bo's'un myself, that was piping his eye like a baby to think of him safe ashore and the ...
— Two Maiden Aunts • Mary H. Debenham

... Pontack's in the city, Locket's was pre-eminently the resort of the "smart set." The prices charged are proof enough of THAT, even though they were not always paid. The case of Sir George Ethrege is one in point. That dissolute dramatist and diplomat of the Restoration period was a frequent customer at Locket's ...
— Inns and Taverns of Old London • Henry C. Shelley

... teamster was bellowing at his horse. The hind wheel of a smart barouche was caught in the fore wheel of a delivery wagon, and the driver of the delivery wagon was expressing his opinion of the situation in terms which seemed to embarrass the elderly gentleman who sat in the barouche. Orme's eye traveled through the outer edge of the disturbance, ...
— The Girl and The Bill - An American Story of Mystery, Romance and Adventure • Bannister Merwin

... you chaps have got to say first, 'cause p'raps you might accidentally say somethin' smart without knowin' it. I'll decide it ...
— The Ranger - or The Fugitives of the Border • Edward S. Ellis

... too (charmingly played by Miss Marie Loehr), who disguised herself as a dweller in Bethnal Green by the simple expedient of a duster pinned over her shoulders—how could Mr. Sutro expect her dainty skirt and smart white shoes to escape the eye of this "clever" female, ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, May 6, 1914 • Various

... Inventin' a jew's-harp to go by steam, or a new-fangled powder-horn, While the children's goin' barefoot to school and the weeds is chokin' our corn. When 'Bijah and me kep' company, he warn't like this, you know; Our folks all thought he was dreadful smart—but that was years ago. He was handsome as any pictur then, and he had such a glib, bright way— I never thought that a time would come when I'd rue my weddin' day; But when I've been forced to chop wood, and tend to the farm beside, ...
— Poems Teachers Ask For, Book Two • Various

... evening came to the village where the two inns were; and in one of these were people singing, and dancing, and feasting; but the other looked very dirty, and poor. 'I should be very silly,' said he, 'if I went to that shabby house, and left this charming place'; so he went into the smart house, and ate and drank at his ease, and forgot the bird, ...
— Grimms' Fairy Tales • The Brothers Grimm

... This gentleman is Mr. Langley. His father is a messenger in the Atlas Bank, of Boston, and Mr. Langley, jr. invariably directs his communications to his parent with the name of that corporation somewhere very legibly inscribed on the back of the letter. He is an apprentice to the ship, but being a smart, handy fellow, and a tolerable seaman, he was deemed worthy of promotion, and as his owner could find no second mate's berth vacant in any of his vessels, the Gentile has rejoiced for the last twelve months in the possession of a third mate in the ...
— Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII. No. 3. March 1848 • Various

... education, we're returning to excellence, and again, the heroes are our people, not government. We're stressing basics of discipline, rigorous testing, and homework, while helping children become computer-smart as well. For 20 years scholastic aptitude test scores of our high school students went down, but now they have gone up 2 of the last 3 years. We must go forward in our commitment to the new basics, giving parents greater authority and making sure good teachers ...
— State of the Union Addresses of Ronald Reagan • Ronald Reagan

... The smart straw hat and light summer suit did not become the contractor. He was full-fleshed and red of face, and the artistically cut garments striped in soft colors conveyed a suggestion of ease and leisure which seemed very much out of place on him. One could not imagine ...
— The Gold Trail • Harold Bindloss

... the joy-rider into the parachute harness for such emergencies and over the side, then himself, both descending safely on the right side of the British trenches—which was rather "smart work," as the British would say, but all to the taste of the one-armed pilot who was looking for adventures. I have counted thirty-three British sausage balloons within my range of vision from a hill. The previous year the British had not a ...
— My Second Year of the War • Frederick Palmer

... the barracks, which are quite new, and the quarters of the battalion of the standing army. The barrack rooms are spotlessly clean, and the order and neatness unsurpassed, which, together with the smart drilling and superb physique of the soldiers, would delight the heart of the severest martinet. Everything connected with the military training of the Montenegrins is up to the standard of Continental excellence. ...
— The Land of the Black Mountain - The Adventures of Two Englishmen in Montenegro • Reginald Wyon

... cheerfully as white Polacks and Italians; the rent of shacks mounted merrily, the street car lines counted gleeful gains, and the crimes of white men and black men flourished in the dark. The high and skilled and smart climbed on the bent backs of the ignorant; harder the mass of laborers strove to unionize their fellows and ...
— Darkwater - Voices From Within The Veil • W. E. B. Du Bois

... naturally as a duchess describing her latest diet at a smart dinner-party, with an air, too, as of some great personage disguised on purpose so that he might ...
— The Extra Day • Algernon Blackwood

... Jacobs, for I have got to have a long talk with you.' He had him there about an hour, and when he finished, the fellow was completely broken down. Father told him that there were just two courses in life for a young man to take, and he had gotten on the wrong one. He was a young, smart fellow, and if he turned right around now, there was a chance for him. If he didn't there was nothing but the State's prison ahead of him, for he needn't think he was going to gull and cheat all the world, and never be found out. Father said he'd give him all the help in his power, ...
— Beautiful Joe - An Autobiography of a Dog • by Marshall Saunders

... as commonly made, are hardly so good a weapon as a stout Stick—the Blades are often inserted into the Handles in such a slight manner, that one smart blow will break them out;—if you wish for a Sword-Cane, you must have one made with a good Regulation Blade, which alone will cost more than is usually charged for the entire Stick.—I have seen a Cane made by Mr PRICE, of the Stick and Umbrella Warehouse, 221, ...
— Recreations of Christopher North, Volume 2 • John Wilson

... "Unmarried maiden lady, smart and good-looking, desires good husband. Has two-hundred-and-thirty-acre farm in good state of cultivation, well stocked, and will promise right party a home and much affection. Apply on premises ...
— The Skipper and the Skipped - Being the Shore Log of Cap'n Aaron Sproul • Holman Day

... to slip unobserved on board a Gravesend boat which was crowded with passengers, and in a few minutes was flying before a smart breeze, on my way to London. It was past sun-down, and the shades of evening were fast veiling surrounding objects as we approached this vast and mighty city, the heart's-core as it were of the world. I cannot express my feelings, nor ...
— The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, April 1844 - Volume 23, Number 4 • Various

... pretty smart," said John, a half-foolish grin on his face. "I swear I thought I saw land ...
— The Go Ahead Boys and the Treasure Cave • Ross Kay

... to finish the sentence, he bounded up the rickety staircase, and turned towards the bed with the intention of giving our hero a smart shaking. ...
— Paul Prescott's Charge • Horatio Alger

... versions of the "Mount of Olives" differ materially from the German in the text. Numerous efforts have been made to avoid the incongruity of the original narrative, but with poor success. It was first produced in England in 1814 by Sir George Smart during the Lenten oratorios at Drury Lane, the English version of which was made by Arnold, at that time manager of the King's Theatre. Still later it was produced again, and the adapter compromised by using the third person, as "'Jehovah, Thou, O Father,' saith the Lord our Saviour." Two other ...
— The Standard Oratorios - Their Stories, Their Music, And Their Composers • George P. Upton

... flower or a coloured towel for identification purposes. There were labourers in tight trousers and tabard jackets, inscribed with the name and profession of their employer. There were geisha girls on their best behaviour, in charge of a professional auntie, and recognizable only by the smart cut of their cloaks and the deep space between the collar and the nape of the neck, ...
— Kimono • John Paris

... don't do men any good," Rasba mused, aloud, "I've wondered right smart about hit. You see, a parson circuit rides around, an' he sees a sight more'n he ...
— The River Prophet • Raymond S. Spears

... sheep as to what should be done with him. "I hope that Mann's history will be a warning to many of our friends," Borrow wrote to Mr Rule and quoted the passage in his letter to Mr Brandram, {226a} "and tend to a certain extent to sober down the desire for doing what is called at home SMART THINGS, many of which terminate in a manner very different from the original expectations of the parties concerned." Mr Brandram thought that Borrow was a little hard upon Graydon, and that he had not received "with the due grano salis the statements ...
— The Life of George Borrow • Herbert Jenkins

... you go further and pause to admire A ship that's as neat as your heart could desire, As smart as a frigate aloft and alow, Her brasswork like gold and her planking like snow, Look round for a mate by whose twang it is plain That his home port is somewhere round Boston or Maine, With a jaw that's the cut of a square block of wood, And beat it, my son, while the going is good! There'll ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. CLVIII, January 7, 1920 • Various

... Mrs. Joyce; 'I daresay you don't want; but beggars can't be choosers, you know. If you'd been a nice, smart, strong girl, I might have kept you instead of Betsey Ann; but a little puny thing like you wouldn't be worth her salt. No, no, miss; your fine days are over; to the house you'll ...
— A Peep Behind the Scenes • Mrs. O. F. Walton

... slab of tobacco from his pocket, cut off a wedge and pressed it into the leather pouch of his cheek. "Guess he's been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ...
— Ethan Frome • Edith Wharton

... as far as the village," said Miss Amelyn, looking down doubtfully at Sadie's smart French shoes—"if you ...
— Stories in Light and Shadow • Bret Harte

... wife's style of conversation for better for worse when he took her gayly dressed self under those ominous conditions, and he never showed impatience. He loved his wife, but I think it grieved him when smart-colored glass vases were strewn among the cherished bits of old china and enamel which his soul loved. He did not like chromo-lithographs, or the framed photographs which Mrs. Alwynn called her "momentums of travel," among his rare old prints, either. He bore them, ...
— The Danvers Jewels, and Sir Charles Danvers • Mary Cholmondeley

... right," said Adam; "you're not accountable. Looks as if the other fellow was too smart for both of us; but I had a feeling I'd better stick to tinto and siphon. You can generally taste anything suspicious in that mixture and I've been doped before. But, as I'm an American citizen and American influence is powerful, I didn't ...
— The Buccaneer Farmer - Published In England Under The Title "Askew's Victory" • Harold Bindloss

... hand, while the student is rejoicing at the smart raps bestowed upon the Teutonic offender, he is warned against the error of thinking that "provided he can make himself understood, the historian has the right to use a faulty, low, careless, or clogged style.... Seeing the extreme complexity ...
— Introduction to the Study of History • Charles V. Langlois

... was so proud he didn't think about going to sleep again, and told how all his family had been quite smart at catching fish; and pretty soon Jack Rabbit caught a good-sized perch, and Mr. 'Coon hooked a croppie, which got away the first time, though he caught it the next; and Mr. Crow caught a "punkin-seed," which made the others laugh, because it ...
— Hollow Tree Nights and Days • Albert Bigelow Paine

... required to form a successful military chief. He conciliates his people by friendly and familiar treatment, but declines to spoil them by yielding to their inclinations when they are adverse to their true interests. He has a ready humor, which shows itself in smart sayings and repartees, that take occasionally the favorite Oriental turn of parable or apologue. He is mild in his treatment of the prisoners that fall into his hands, and ready to forgive even the heinous crime of rebellion. He has none of the ...
— The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 5. (of 7): Persia • George Rawlinson

... what I'm worrying about. Gorham's been getting next to Littleton and Graham all summer. I've tried to find out just what he was up to, but he's smarter in covering his tracks than I am to uncover 'em, even if he ain't quite so smart in some other directions. He's been in to see me several times, and there hasn't been a word to make me think that things ain't going through just as we planned 'em; but if they are, what's he monkeying round with those other fellows ...
— The Lever - A Novel • William Dana Orcutt

... what funereal pigments shall he describe his sinking emotions when one of his own band, approaching him as he went, whispered in his ear, "Look out at this end; they kick up like the very devil. And their man behind the wicket is really smart; if you give him half a chance he'll have your stumps down before you can say 'knife.'" Shorn of its uncouth familiarity, this was a charitable warning that they into whose stronghold I was turning my footsteps—perhaps ...
— The Mirror of Kong Ho • Ernest Bramah

... has been commonly called, which occurred in September, 1835, is an event that stands vividly in the memory of all Colored people who lived in this community at that time. Benjamin Snow, a smart Colored man, keeping a restaurant on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, was reported to have made some remark of a bravado kind derogatory to the wives of white mechanics; whereupon this class, or those assuming to represent them, made a descent upon his establishment, destroying ...
— History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 (of 2) - Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens • George Washington Williams

... sure that Boanerges did not lecture that Fast-day forenoon in Mansoul on Acts xxvii. 14. We would know that, even if we were not told what his text that forenoon was. His text that never-to-be-forgotten Fast-day forenoon was in Luke xiii. 7—'Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?' And a very smart sermon he made upon the place. First, he showed what was the occasion of the words, namely, because the fig-tree was barren. Then he showed what was contained in the sentence, to wit, repentance or utter desolation. He then showed also by whose authority this sentence was pronounced. ...
— Bunyan Characters - Third Series - The Holy War • Alexander Whyte

... dropped him without a word. I'd have given him the pacificator as well as the peace-breaker. Oh, no! I can't think it—I can't—I won't! Margaret Cooper is not a girl to my liking, but, Lord help us! she's too beautiful and too smart to suffer such a skunk, in so short a time, to get the whip-hand of her. No, gran'pa, I can't ...
— Charlemont • W. Gilmore Simms

... you have one Which may n't be quite your charming spouse's; We all lock up a Skeleton In some grim chamber of our houses; Familiars who exhaust their days And nights in probing where our smart is, And who, for all their spiteful ...
— The Home Book of Verse, Vol. 4 (of 4) • Various



Words linked to "Smart" :   street smart, ache, overbold, wise, cagy, chic, act up, saucy, impertinent, smart as a whip, bite, hurt, bright, hurting, stylish, clever, smart bomb, automatic, cagey, forward, fast, sting, throb, smarting, canny, shoot, smart aleck, burn, intelligent, sassy, stupid, streetwise, sharp, voguish, smartness, impudent, fashionable, intense, cause to be perceived, shrewd, hunger



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