Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) clever, esp. in ironic use.

1883		‘Mark Twain’ Life on the Mississippi (1914) 328: In the old times, the barkeeper owned the bar himself, and was gay and smarty and talky.
1908		Sun. Times (Perth) 8 Mar. 4/8: A dozen of the smartie push will pay / To know what sets the same J.W. laughing.
1913		Good Housekeeping Nov. 202/2: Once I was ‘smarty’ just to see How very ‘smarty’ I could be [DA].
1927		D. Scarborough Impatient Griselda 4: And don’t be so smarty, Art. Who knows but I’ll be sitting up with your corpse next?
1936		J. Curtis Gilt Kid 78: ‘Smarty, ain’t you,’ she mocked, ‘puts all his dough in his hat.’.
1943		C. McCullers Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1986) 101: A couple of tough boys tried to be smarty.
1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 204: Then he starts spilling the usual bull, with that smarty grin of his all over his mug.
1964		J. Thompson Pop. 1280 in Four Novels (1983) 478: I seen ol’ smarty Nick!
1969		L. Hadow Full Cycle 83: Smarty Dick, Smarty Dick!
2002		A. Dewlen Bone Pickers 77: I didn’t mean to be smarty. The truth is, I don’t often drink.