English

Noun

Besserwisser ‎(plural Besserwissers)

1. A know-it-all, wiseguy, wiseacre, smart aleck.
   • 1973, Robert G. Collins, Kenneth McRobbie, The Eastern European Imagination in Literature, page 103:

     They are not Besserwissers; they just know better because they have had the experience. Capitalism has no lure for them, as socialism does for their West Central European counterparts.

   • 1993, Ullica Segerstråle, Bringing the Scientist Back In, in the anthology Controversial science: from content to contention (Thomas Brante, Steve Fuller, William Lynch, editors):

     There is an authoritarian ring to many of the new approaches to the sociology of scientific knowledge, a Besserwisser attitude, whereby the sociologist knows best and does not need to consult with the object of his or her study.

   • 1995, Gordon A. Craig, “Konrad Adenauer and the United States”, in Reiner Pommerin (editor), The American Impact on Postwar Germany, Berghahn Books, ISBN 978-1-57181-004-5, page 7:

     […] that Adenauer was always a Besserwisser who was convinced that other people, even when they were heads of government in other countries, did not understand their own interests as well as he did […]

   • 2006, Arvi Hurskainen, Lotta Harjula, Maaria Ylänkö, Africa in the long run: festschrift in the honour of Professor Arvi Hurskainen

     The proverb functions as a warning to a ‘Besserwisser’, because at the end a ‘know-it-all’ will drive away even his or her best friends.

German

Noun

Besserwisser m ‎(genitive Besserwissers, plural Besserwisser, feminine Besserwisserin)

1. (pejorative) know-it-all, wiseguy, wiseacre, smart aleck

Declension

Synonyms

• Klugscheißer
• Schlaumeier

Related terms

• besserwisserisch
• Besserwisserei
• Besserwessi

See also

• Alleskönner

Finnish

Noun

besserwisser

1. know-it-all

Declension

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowing from German Besserwisser.

Noun

besserwisser c

1. a know-it-all

   Du är en sådan där Messerschmitt! − Det heter faktiskt besserwisser.

   You're such a Messerschmitt! − It's actually called Besserwisser.

Declension