smark

n. a person who enjoys professional wrestling despite its artificiality; (hence) a know-it-all or hyper-critical fan of the sport. Subjects: English, Entertainment, Slang

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Citations: 1994 [DScherer] Usenet: rec.sport.pro-wrestling (May 21) “Info lists, and such”: Bob Rudd, the Czar of Misinformation, stated that this group is all fantasy posts, Smarks, and people who curse. 1999 [D-Chance] Usenet: rec.sport.pro-wrestling.moderated (July 15) “Re: Difference between marks and smarts”: People who affectionately refer to themselves as “smarts” or “smarks” are little more than self-aggrandizing blue-bloods who think that videotaping every TV show and PPV…or knowing a few of the wrestler’s “real” names…makes them somehow better than the average fan. 2001 Sunday Mail (Malaysia) (Feb. 11) “Be a smark, talk the talk” p. 71: Smark or Smart: A fan who understands some of the inner workings of the wrestling business. 2002 [Seint] Usenet: alt.pro-wrestling.wwf (July 15) “Re: Are you a smark?”: The term “smark” shows how stupid you are. Fine, you don’t like to see people thinking they can do a better job of Vince McMahon. Don’t read the newsgroup, then.…At least come up with more than just “smark.” One insult will get old very quickly here. 2002 Alfonso A. Castillo Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.) (Sept. 22) “A Rowdy, Bawdy Brawl” p. G6: Smart mark—(n) an informed fan, who follows the business closely, but lets his hair down to enjoy the show (also “smark"). 2004 Shanna Compton Gamers (Nov. 1) p. 99: I am a smart fan. Or more accurately, I am a smark, a smark mark, someone hip to the inner workings of the industry who at the same time is willing to give himself over to the pleasures of the spectacle, and the possibility that some of it might actually be real. A smart mark.…Fusing smart fan and mark, the term was apparently coined by the industry itself to name the contradiction of being a smart fan who nonetheless relishes the game, someone awed by and engaged in viewing professional wrestling despite being expert in its construction. 2005 Mike Steele ProWrestling.com (Dec. 14) “The 5 Star Truth: Student Of The Game”: Smarks are the ones who go to shows and chant “BORING!” and heckle the wrestlers. They claim to love wrestling the most but seemingly bitch 100% and never really praise anything, as if they were wrestling fans when it was good and they only still watch out of habit now.

Posted 15 Dec 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend