2007-04-28 03:37:23 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
They aren't. When you say wise guy you mean they are being funny in a clever way, not stupid. Stupid man would be the opposite of a wise man.
2007-04-28 03:43:00 · answer #1 · answered by Bored Enough To Be Here 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My guess is the origin of the use of "wise guy" started something like this.
Street thugs were recruited into larger mobs, told to "get wise" and join. So they were probably referred to by other mobsters as guys that had gotten wise, and the police heard about it, and once when one of them was showing some attitude, they said something like "Oh, you're a wise guy, eh?" and the term came to mean a real dumbass, proficient in making a bad situation worse for themselves.
2007-04-28 13:54:29 · answer #2 · answered by open4one 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A wise guy is a guy who is annoying. A wise man is knowledgeable. This is how the language has evolved.
2007-05-02 07:49:33 · answer #3 · answered by Christine 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wise men are intellectual
Wise guys are crass
2007-04-30 21:00:45 · answer #4 · answered by Mo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because we park in driveways and drive on parkways
2007-05-01 22:11:26 · answer #5 · answered by Kholroth 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because our American Society made it that way.
2007-04-28 17:30:38 · answer #6 · answered by mikezcim 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Aaa, forget about it.
2007-04-28 17:25:17 · answer #7 · answered by itsmyitch 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I never thought of that -- but it is interesting!!
2007-04-28 10:56:49 · answer #8 · answered by nic1595 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋