Nonvulgar synonym for "smartass"

I just read a question here at ELU where a certain user, I'll call him A, disagreed with the premise in the question. He wrote a comment to disagree with the premise, and wrote that actually, such-and-so grammar thing is not necessarily disallowed. OP requested an example that would be kosher. A gave a smartass response, telling OP to study the difference between certain fields of study.

I need an alternative way of expressing the idea of the smartass response, that's not vulgar. It doesn't have to be a single word and it's okay to rewrite the sentence.


Solution 1:

Know-it-all, wise-guy, wiseacre or smarty-pants are synonyms for smartass that do not have swearwords in them.

A know-it-all or a wise-guy, usually used in a sarcastic tone, means that a person acts as if he is a professional in the matter that he is talking about while he's clearly not. Examples:

Ooh, look at Mr. Know-it-all! You know everything, don't you?

Hey, Mr Wise-guy, what do you think about this evidence that proves you dead-wrong?

Wiseacre or smarty-pants are usually used for people who are new to the issues but they're talking as if their input is the most important one in the room. They can usually be interchanged with the others.

In your case I'd use know-it-all, since it would look better on an exchange site (seems more professional than others even though it should be avoided in professional situations):

He gave a know-it-all response, telling OP to study the difference between certain fields of study.

Solution 2:

If you're looking for something "kosher" - you can try

Chutzpadik - not showing due respect; impudent; impertinent; brazen (Wiktionary)

It comes from yiddish and seems to embody what you're looking for

Solution 3:

There is the expression Clever Clogs.

A person who is ostentatiously and annoyingly knowledgeable.

This was widely used in my childhood but I haven't heard it so often nowadays.