Some eighty or ninety years ago a male member of a well-known family was about to be married. He was a soft-spoken individual, and, in the days when nearly every one had a nickname, he was called and known generally as “Smoothy.” When the wedding-day came it was found that all the invited guests were his relatives and friends—not one the bride’s. Hence the saying.

“All on one side, like Smoothy’s wedding,” is often applied to cases of biassed judgment, or an unfair award from a prejudiced view of the subject.

“Smoothy” is a nickname commonly given to a double-faced, fair-spoken hypocrite,—one who runs with the hare and holds with the hounds. [193]