Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. unctuous, ingratiating; also as adv.; thus smarmily adv.

1899		Academy (London) 14 Jan. n.p.: Smarmy: Saying treacly things which do not sound genuine.
1916		Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) 6 July 2/4: ‘I wonder what his game is [...] He doesn’t look the sort she could make a friend of; too smarmy for my taste’.
1924		‘L. Brock’ Deductions Col. Gore 51: Don’t you be taken in by that smarmy swine [OED].
1932		D.L. Sayers Have His Carcase 308: ‘Make a good Judas, if you were wanting such a thing.’ [...] ‘If you read the part smarmy,’ said Mr. Sullivan. ‘Can’t see him Act V, though.’.
1940		N. Mitchison Among You Taking Notes 16 Mar. 57: It is such an effort to remain polite, when the smarmy old bitch oozes at me.
1953		K. Tennant Joyful Condemned 94: You don’t put them smarmy manners over me again. I’ve had you.
1964		P. White Burnt Ones 62: For that horrid man. Whom I found smarmy before he turned mean and rude.
1977		(con. 1961) J. Rosenthal Spend, Spend, Spend Scene 18: You smarmy old sod!
1981		P. Wright Cockney Dialect and Sl. 92: Of a plausible, smooth, smarmy foreman it will be said by one of his underlings ‘’E gives me plen’y of toffee.’.
1998		L. Stringer Grand Central Winter (1999) 105: A smarmy, Reagan-era huckster who preaches the gospel of wealth-through-real-estate on WOR radio.
2002		A. Duff Jake’s Long Shadow 181: The doctor’s smarmy, upper-class face.
2007		L. Redhead Cherry Pie [ebook] I wasn’t going to take any shit from a smarmy shit with wandering digits.
2010		K. Richards Life 166: Jacobs was smarmy, but he was actually quite a nice guy.
2017		Dly News (NY) 6 Aug. 23/3: Taking smarmy selfies of his sex pistol and sending them to colleagues.

2. smug and self-righteous.

1956		J. Curtis Look Long Upon a Monkey 188: Smarmy sod, snooping round, conning folk he’s a good bloke when he’s only out for himself.
1968		G. Slatter Pagan Game (1969) 64: The smarmy master who wrote on reports Angela is too cautious and hesitant.
1978		S. King Stand (1990) 148: His wife, and his smarmy daughter.
1986		F. Taylor Auf Wiedersehen Pet Two 104: Smiling enigmatically, the smarmy little bugger put down the phone.
1999		Indep. on Sun. 7 Nov. 32: A great big patronising dollop of know-it-all-ness by smarmy characters.
2006		G. Malkani Londonstani (2007) 151: He was just some smarmy wanker flashin his cash.
2012		T. Piccirilli Last Kind Words 182: He’d presumed too much, spilled too much. His smarmy expression froze.
2021		C. Hammer Opal Country 270: His smarmy lawyer.

3. of a voice, sonorous, rich.

1990

S. Morgan Homeboy 355: Maas’s voice reminded him of a glitzy game show host’s, at once snide and smarmy.

4. unpleasant.

2000

F. Mac Anna Cartoon City 60: I can’t abide the glow of streetlights. They’re so smarmy, don’t you think?