# wise-assed



## aslia

Hi,
I would like to know the Turkish translation of wise-assed. As I am new in the forum I do not know if there is any Turkish members other than me. If not, an exact explanation in English would be helpful.

Thank you in advance!


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## elroy

aslia said:
			
		

> Hi,
> I would like to know the Turkish translation of wise-assed. As I am new in the forum I do not know if there is any Turkish members other than me. If not, an exact explanation in English would be helpful.
> 
> Thank you in advance!


 
Hello, and welcome to the forums!

I don't know Turkish, but I can try to explain it in English. A "wise ass" is a smart aleck, which is someone who makes snide, self-righteous, or pedantic comments - comments in which he displays his knowledge in a crude and unsophisticated way by bringing up issues of no direct relevance or interest - a barrage of insigificant detail employed to display his knowledge.

Gosh, it's hard to explain. I hope I haven't led you astray.


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## panjandrum

Hi aslia - welcome from me too.

I have not seen *wise-assed*, and indeed I don't think I have seen *wise-ass*.
I _*HAVE*_ seen *smart-ass*, which is as Elroy has described.


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## Whodunit

panjandrum said:
			
		

> Hi aslia - welcome from me too.
> 
> I have not seen *wise-assed*, and indeed I don't think I have seen *wise-ass*.
> I _*HAVE*_ seen *smart-ass*, which is as Elroy has described.



I also know "smart aleck", but it's easy to guess what a "wise-ass" is, since you can guess that he "sh**s wisely", hm? I could guess it from German.


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## elroy

panjandrum said:
			
		

> Hi aslia - welcome from me too.
> 
> I have not seen *wise-assed*, and indeed I don't think I have seen *wise-ass*.
> I _*HAVE*_ seen *smart-ass*, which is as Elroy has described.


 
I must confess, I hadn't really seen it before.  I looked it up on dictionary.com, and it said "smart aleck," so I proceeded to (attempt to) describe "smart aleck."


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## elroy

Whodunit said:
			
		

> I also know "smart aleck", but it's easy to guess what a "wise-ass" is, since you can guess that he "sh**s wisely", hm? I could guess it from German.


 
Do you mean "bulls**ts wisely"?

If so, that's an oxymoron.  

It basically mean that he *acts* like he's wise, which is what makes it all so annoying.

It's kind of like "wise guy."


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## Whodunit

elroy said:
			
		

> Do you mean "bulls**ts wisely"?
> 
> If so, that's an oxymoron.
> 
> It basically mean*s* that he *acts* like he's wise, which is what makes it all so annoying.
> 
> It's kind of like "wise guy."



Is "bullsh**" a verb?   

Well, I don't know if you've ever heard of "Klugsch***er" in German, which would be in English—translated literally—"wise-sh**ter". I don't know if that exists in English at all, but that would mean that the person "sh**s wisely", so he "pretends to be wise". "to sh**" in this context would mean that he is NOT wise, but he acts like that.


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## elroy

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Is "bullsh**" a verb?


 
Indeed.  It's used figuratively, as opposed to "sh**."



> Well, I don't know if you've ever heard of "Klugsch***er" in German, which would be in English—translated literally—"wise-sh**ter". I don't know if that exists in English at all, but that would mean that the person "sh**s wisely", so he "pretends to be wise". "to sh**" in this context would mean that he is NOT wise, but he acts like that.


 
That's exactly why it's an oxymoron.


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## Cath.S.

There are situations where bullshitting would be the wisest thing to do, though.


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## Whodunit

elroy said:
			
		

> Indeed.  It's used figuratively, as opposed to "sh**."



Why is bullsh** opposed to sh**? Either I'm too dumb for English, or I don't understand you!



> That's exactly why it's an oxymoron.



Ah ok. Then I don't know why I bothered!


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## elroy

egueule said:
			
		

> There are situations where bullshitting would be the wisest thing to do, though.


 
Touché, Egueule!


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## elroy

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Why is bullsh** opposed to sh**? Either I'm too dumb for English, or I don't understand you!


 
The first one is used only figuratively.
The second is used literally. (and figuratively in other contexts, but not in this one)

That's all. 



> Ah ok. Then I don't know why I bothered!


 
You bothered because you were trying to learn. At least that's what I think. There's certainly no reason to regret having suggested something if it turns out to be less than ideal.


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## Whodunit

elroy said:
			
		

> The first one is used only figuratively.
> The second is used literally. (and figuratively in other contexts, but not in this one)
> 
> That's all.



I'm beginning to grasp.   



> You bothered because you were trying to learn. At least that's what I think. There's certainly no reason to regret having suggested something if it turns out to be less than ideal.



Oh my God! If I were learning why did I suggest something wrong here?


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## panjandrum

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Why is bullsh** opposed to sh**? Either I'm too dumb for English, or I don't understand you!


I could say to someone,"You're talking sh**!"
That would suggest that I do not believe what you were saying. You may believe it sincerely, but I know it is wrong.

"That's bullsh**!"
... is different. It suggests, as above, that I do not believe what you are saying - but much more than that. I know that you know it is rubbish. And I know that you thought you would be able to make me believe it. I know that you were trying to make me believe something that you know is rubbish.

I hope that is clear - and my apologies if it was not necessary.


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## elroy

panjandrum said:
			
		

> I could say to someone,"You're talking sh**!"
> That would suggest that I do not believe what you were saying. You may believe it sincerely, but I know it is wrong.
> 
> "That's bullsh**!"
> ... is different. It suggests, as above, that I do not believe what you are saying - but much more than that. I know that you know it is rubbish. And I know that you thought you would be able to make me believe it. I know that you were trying to make me believe something that you know is rubbish.
> 
> I hope that is clear - and my apologies if it was not necessary.


 
I think "you're talking sh**!" can also mean that the person is saying things he knows he's true.  (But I guess you know that because you only said "may.")

Either way, I actually don't think either of them is an equivalent of "wise ass" or "smart aleck."  You're not necessarily saying rubbish; you're just annoying your listenener with pedantic comments.


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## Whodunit

panjandrum said:
			
		

> I hope that is clear - and my apologies if it was not necessary.



Exactly the opposite! I didn't know that difference yet, and not even that there IS one. Okay nevertheless, I think we should go on-topic again. Aslia ill come back and see us talk about bullsh** etc.


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## Kelly B

There is an additional meaning to the shit/bullshit verb forms: to exaggerate to the extreme, usually in jest.

-"That bass (sport fish) I caught yesterday weighed 20 pounds!"
-"You're shitting me!"

-"What were you doing out so late?"
-"We were sitting around shooting the shit (swapping stories)"

And another useful phrase to know (not to use, perhaps)

"He's such a bullshit artist" (he can make you believe his nonsense)

New thread, anyone? I'm not going to be responsible for naming it, myself.


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## Kelly B

But back to the topic. Think of a 14 year old boy who has read everything he ever needs to know about everything, as far as he is concerned. He tries very hard to make his teachers and parents look like the idiots they are (again, as far as he is concerned): whenever he opens his mouth these days, it is to make some *wise-ass* remark, with that smug smile that just makes you want to teach him some humility.


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## elroy

Kelly B said:
			
		

> But back to the topic. Think of a 14 year old boy who has read everything he ever needs to know about everything, as far as he is concerned. He tries very hard to make his teachers and parents look like the idiots they are (again, as far as he is concerned): whenever he opens his mouth these days, it is to make some *wise-ass* remark, with that smug smile that just makes you want to teach him some humility.


 
Amazing description, Kelly.

Just about puts mine to shame.


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## aslia

For the ones who heve not seen wise-assed used before. It is used several times by the writer Tony Vigorito in his book called "Just a Couple of Days". And I have to find a Turiısh equivalent since I am translating the book into Turkish now.

Thank you everyone who contributed to my better understanding of the phrase!


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## Tabac

aslia said:
			
		

> Hi,
> I would like to know the Turkish translation of wise-assed. As I am new in the forum I do not know if there is any Turkish members other than me. If not, an exact explanation in English would be helpful.
> 
> Thank you in advance!


Hoş geldiniz aslia. Bu cevaplar iyi, zannediyorum.


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## Chazzwozzer

Oh, well!
*
Ukala *and even *ukala dümbeleği* are the equivalent to wiseass. How did you translate the phrase, by the way?


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## aslia

I wasn't expecting a suggestion really nowadays, but thank you anyway... 
By the way it has been so long that I dont't remember how I translated it, but it definetely contained the word "ukala"...


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## Chazzwozzer

So you translated the whole book and now I may get one from D&R, right?

TDK has no other compound phrase but ukala dümbeleği, so I wonder what phrase for wisease you came up with, really.


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## aslia

In fact, I had to leave the translation to someone else, because of other urgencies. I have no idea whether it has been translated into Turkish or published. And unfortunately I cannot find the pages I have translated to check my exact translation. But I re-read all the suggestion and "ukala dümbeleği" sounds perfect to me!

Thank you very much for your interest. Thanks to your message I re-discovered "word reference" which I have already forgotten about... I am much into the development of probation service in Turkey right now!


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## Chazzwozzer

Welcome back to Word Reference forums, I'm happy to have you with us.

I'll let you know if I see the translation in the bookshelves.


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