Smart Alec from Spain picked up one's tense (7)
I believe the answer is:
egotist
'smart alec' is the definition.
'spain picked up one's tense' is the wordplay.
'spain' becomes 'e' (abbreviation for Espana).
'picked up' becomes 'got'.
'one's' becomes 'is' (Roman numeral).
'tense' becomes 't' (abbreviation used in many dictionaries).
'e'+'got'+'is'+'t'='EGOTIST'
'from' is the link.
(Other definitions for egotist that I've seen before include "One who is concerned only with self" , "show-off" , "one promotes oneself" , "Boaster" , "Self-conceited person" .)