Talk:smart

U.K. "smart" vs U.S. "smart"

I must have read somewhere that "smart" in the sense of "intellectually clever" is more typical of U.S. than of U.K. Can someone please confirm or refute this? --Daniel Polansky 14:01, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

I don’t know about the U.K., but the usual sense in the U.S. is intelligent, clever, wise. —Stephen 16:26, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Sorry for this being a late reply, but I didn't feel the need to start a new section. I think the original meaning of the term in the UK was “presentable” (of person or clothing). Probably particularly on the back of “smartphone”, however, the “clever” usage has become just as common. N4m3 (talk) 22:55, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Smartphone is very recent. Smart-arse, for example, shows usage in this sense in the UK considerably earlier. Equinox ◑ 22:57, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

By the way, Daniel is right: although "smart" is well understood in the UK for "astute, intelligent", it is (or was) less common in that sense than in North America. Equinox ◑ 22:58, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Noun?

Fielding, in Tom Jones, seems to use smart as a noun, i.e. here:

1. • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book ii:

     ... the poor lad bore not only the whole smart, but the whole blame...

If we can find other uses (and what a gigantic PITA that'll be), we should add it to the entry. JesseW 21:38, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

Cognate

While it is listed in the translation section, and somewhat the etymology (There is only OHG)... German cognate "schmerzen" should be listed in the etymology meaning "to hurt". This is why they say "Kopfschmerzen" for "headache".

130.64.102.236 14:48, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Good looking?

Definition six (surely there are too many?) of the adjective is "good-looking". I would say that this is wrong: "Presentable or clean in appearance" is closer to the meaning. I think "good-looking" is just too subjective.

smart end

Don't know if this is common enough to make a page or if we could cover it with a preset use of smart. Quote from Hugh Glass in The Revenant:

Far as I can tell my place is right here on the smart end of this rifle.

Closest def I can think of is "efficient". He is holding the end with the trigger while John Fitzgerald is at the other. Presumably the barrel would be the "dumb end" of a rifle by contrast. ScratchMarshall (talk) 19:05, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

Hmm, the barrel is usually the business end. Equinox ◑ 16:47, 17 July 2017 (UTC)

It seems the word "Smart" has 2 distinct and very opposite meaning

It seems the word "smart" is used in completely 2 different and opposite meaning, depending upon countries or places or communities. Such as in some places or cultures; the word "Smart" means who avoid learning in depth, is excellent in deception, and have acceptable and attractive skills in body language and social norms to fit in society. They tend to include examples like stereotypical food delivery boys, call-girls, receptionists, advertisers, touts or their skills in any other professional fields. So in these cultural trends, a "smart student" means a student who have a huge social connections and can easily "manage" things like proxy-attendance or exam-cheating.

In some other places or cultures the term "smart" means completely opposite. They use the term for a stereotype of who is geeky or nerdy, eccentric, socially awkward, having great insights, and have good mental skills as well as a great deal of invisible mental labour they prepare at isolation or solitude. The smart ones (of this second sense) expected to come up with "honesty is the best policy" type solutions, or in other words "the millenial" as in "intellectuals solve problem, millenials prevent them".

The usage are so opposite that iwhile using the word "smart" in English the people from one demographics would fail to comprehend what is being meant by the other demographics (and in my personal experience it was shocking)

I want to know, how these 2 very opposite meaning developed and what are its demography and geography.

2405:204:4313:D858:55AE:1695:FFA7:219F 12:36, 24 August 2019 (UTC)

Jane Austen quote

The Jane Austen quote doesn't really illustrate the meaning given; the sense in the Jane Austen quote is more like "socially fashionable/prestigious"... AnonMoos (talk) 08:50, 26 August 2019 (UTC)

adverb

adverb
smartly: in a smart manner 
Microsoft® Encarta® 2009

--Backinstadiums (talk) 16:41, 11 May 2020 (UTC)

discriminating

Selective in application or effect
Smart sanctions

--Backinstadiums (talk) 12:28, 15 October 2020 (UTC)