Why this word is great
CHOCHOM — [Noun] A wise and learned man or, colloquially, a know-it-all. From Yiddish חכם (khokhem), from Hebrew חָכָם (khakhám, 'wise, smart'). Unlike a 'talmid chacham' (bound to sacred study) or a 'smart aleck' (tainted by arrogance), a chochem spans the spectrum from genuine sage to affectionate parody of one. He is the grandfather who solves disputes with a proverb, the self-taught mechanic who diagnoses an engine by ear, the yeshiva student who corrects the rabbi with a smirk—proof that wisdom, like humor, thrives in the space between earnestness and audacity.