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.