smarty-pants

Lacking outside commentators that might broaden its human and political scope, "The Yes Men" sometimes feels like an extended pilot for a smarty-pants broadcast series in the tradition of Michael Moore's "Awful Truth" and "TV Nation" skeins.

His astonishing sense now, which he communicated to me on Easter Sunday when he came back, having just been commissioned, is that he doesn't have all the answer--he isn't one of those smarty-pants who has all the answers--but he felt for the first time in his life that here was an opportunity to serve a moment of noble purpose, and he was hungry for such an opportunity.

When those gun-grabbing liberal Canadians started outlawing and seizing firearms, we warned 'em about "weapon substitution syndrome," but oh, no, those smarty-pants wouldn't listen -- and now the violence has spread to the croquet fields.

Indeed, it made me reflect on another driving nightmare, at the other end of the scale, which was also because I'd tried to be a smarty-pants.

Your objections to NPR are altogether valid, but it seems unnecessary to single out Fresh Air when there are better examples: Studio 360 or The Connection for smarty-pants posturing; for sheer stupidity, Satellite Sisters.

SMARTY-PANTS: Stanton Bridge pupils show off their charity briefs.

A TV commercial selling an Internet comparison shopping service depicts a fat and happy consumer showing off a wonderful new gadget, only to have some superior smarty-pants describe how he got the same thing cheaper on the Internet.

Every week I watch it - these days preferably on tape so I can fast forward the bits from smarty-pants Steve Wright who isn't a patch on Johnny Walker as presenter.

We asked leading psycho-logist Dr Glenn Wilson, of London University, to analyse the designs anonymously (and before you smarty-pants write in, we taped over any signatures) and tell us what character traits their art displayed.

Smarty-pants Marketing Wizard, my clients want their work faster, cheaper and better.

This leads him to rail, like Joe McCarthy, against the decadent establishment--but it also gives him a healthy antisnob edge, in clear contrast to so many other half-British-sounding, smarty-pants young conservatives.

Our young smarty-pants of today might be able to programme their fancy mobile phones or run rings around us on the computer - but put them in a pair of gutties on an ash track and they'd be toast.

Image: Smarty-pants comedian Best known for: His regular slot on Mock the Week.

We've had experience of troublesome teenagers up here in Godzone, but we dealt with them in a way you smarty-pants townies might consider emulating.

It's a pity because this is a rare opportunity for the young to be warmly welcomed into the typically hushed, ritual-bound, smarty-pants audience of opera.