streetwise
adjEtymology From street + -wise.
1
Having the necessary knack, personality and instinct for survival in rough, urban environments.
- Where's the streetwise Hercules / to fight the rising odds?1986, Bonnie Tyler, “Holding Out for a Hero”, in Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire:
2
US Possessing a style that reflects urban life and microculture.
- You could tell from the way he spat old Tupac lyrics, loitering in the corner with his homies, flipping that Yankees cap on his head like he couldn't give a damn that he was streetwise enough to melt Will Smith.
- Synonyms
- street-smart
- Derived terms
- streetwiseness, unstreetwise
- Related terms
- street smarts