On more than one occasion, the Coens» considerable talents have been put to use in the name of bitterness and cheap, caustic rib - poking, which might have been fine if their targets weren't so broadly drawn and if there wasn't just a hint of smugness in how it all played out. (slantmagazine.com)
Tom Wolfe's book denies that language evolved and attacks Darwin and Chomsky with smugness lacking substance. (sciencenews.org)
It's a bold statement about female agency, particularly when Huppert's authorial voice has say, though it's tough to shake a touch of smugness in Verhoeven's male gaze. (decider.com)