The police soon discovered Hoag was cheating them out of their share by this new tactic and arrested Hoag and Melinda. Hoag promptly escaped from prison, with the help of his brother, but was eventually recaptured. Alec Hoag was then given the nickname “Smart Alec” by the police for being too smart for his own good.

Where did the term don't be a smart alec come from?

However, a professor at the Missouri University of Science and Technology discovered that the term actually was derived from a real-life person named Alec who was a con man that thought he was smarter than everyone else. Alec Hoag was a pimp who lived in New York City in the 1840s.

When someone is a smart aleck?

A smart aleck, also spelled smart alek or smart alec, is someone whose sarcastic, wisecracking, or humorous manner is delivered in an offensive, obnoxious, or cocky way.