When:
Lookups spiked on November 15, 2011.
Why:
The word became news when it was used to describe the lawyer who successfully defended Casey Anthony against the charge of murdering her 2-year old daughter.
In a new book about the infamous court case, one of the prosecutors described the defense attorney as "smarmy: somebody who is slick, underhanded, and doesn't shoot straight."
Smarmy means "behaving in a way that seems polite, kind, or pleasing but is not genuine or believable." It comes from a word that meant "to gush" or "to flatter."
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Merriam-Webster unabridged