Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Things Dumb People Say To Sound Smart

People Break Down Which Things Dumb People Say To Sound Smart
Make us preferred on Google

Not everyone is capable of mastering the art of conversation.

It takes skill to perpetuate a lively discussion while also being a respectful listener.

Some people are naturals at this.

Others, however, make up for their self-aware verbal shortcomings by overcompensating. Unfortunately, the ruse ends up exposing their insecurity, much to the delight of their amused audience.


Curious to hear examples of this, Redditor TheArchitect_7 asked:

"What’s a thing dumb people say that makes them think they sound smart?"

Some people just want reactions more than a back-and-forth interaction.

Attention-Seeker

"'You wouldn't understand.' Yeah, that's why I asked you for an explanation."

– Appropriate_Donkey18

Fancy Words

"I sometimes use big words that I don't really understand to make myself sound more ambidextrous."

– Alone_Ad1278

Looking At The Score

"The more someone emphasizes their IQ, the less smart I think they actually are."

– rmshilpi

Hackneyed Sayings

"Everything happens for a reason, nothing is actually 'free' as someone has to pay for it, both parties are the same, you may have book smarts, but I have street smarts, common sense isn't so common anymore, but that's how we've always done it!"

"An addition to the previous: 'We will send 40 billion to Ukraine, but we won't spend 40 billion to secure our schools!'"

– humorous_anecdote

Things can get wacky when dealing with someone who is cantankerous.

Futile Argument

"Something along the lines of 'You can’t prove it didn’t happen.'"

"A guy at work tried to pull this one on me. He believed one of those Animal Planet mockumentaries about a giant killer shark was real. When I told him it was all fiction and that there was no real proof of this kind of stuff, he tried to argue back about while he couldn’t prove it, I couldn’t disprove it either."

"There’s a saying about getting into an argument with a stupid person. This was my real world experience with it."

– WongoKnight

Status

"Do you know who I am?"

– FoxFourTwo

The Equivalent Of Winning

"Thinking that getting a reaction out of someone is the same thing as winning an argument."

– bcopes158

Please Define

"My friend once used the phrase 'By its very definition' while we were arguing about something...so I asked him what the definition actually was, while he fumbled with that a bit I told him to stop using weasel words."

– groovyinutah

No Kidding

"'it all depends on how you look at it.' yeah thats f'king obvious."

– psychpopnprogncore

We all love a good malaprop.

Or Intents

"For all intensive purposes"

– p38-lightning

It's Moot, Really

“Mute point”

"Cracks me up every time."

– Ed_The_Bloody

Sometimes, editing yourself a bit in discourse with those who are intellectually out of your league is better than trying to keep up with them in an attempt to win their favor by articulating something you know nothing about.

I would explain better, but you wouldn't understand. ​

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

screenshot of debate video between Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola

Dem Candidate Trolls GOP Senator After He Was Caught Looking At Her Debate Answer In Cringey Viral Video

On Saturday in Kodiak, Alaska, Senate candidates faced off at the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce fishery debate.

Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan was to spar with his Democratic opponent, former Representative Mary Peltola, who is Yup'ik and was the first Alaska Native ever elected to Congress. Sullivan is a lawyer and former state Attorney General. Peltola was a commercial fisher and former member of the state legislature.

Keep ReadingShow less
Abdul El-Sayed; Tucker Carlson
Finn Gomez/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Abdul El-Sayed Gets Unlikely Ally After Tucker Carlson Defends His Past Comments About 9/11 As 'Obviously Right'

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed found an unlikely ally in far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, who defended him amid conservative outrage over El-Sayed's past remarks about the September 11 terror attacks and their aftermath.

Conservatives lashed out at El-Sayed, a democratic socialist, after the New York Post brought attention to remarks made about the U.S. response to the attacks during a Sept. 7, 2021, episode of the America Dissected podcast.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump and Laura Ingraham
Fox News

Laura Ingraham Pressed Trump On Why He Doesn't Just Give $5k To Americans 'Now'—And We Love To See It

Fox News host Laura Ingraham had people nodding their heads after she bluntly asked President Donald Trump why he doesn't just give people money now after pledging to give every adult American a $5,000 "dividend" check if Republicans win the midterm elections.

Democrats have dismissed Trump's proposal as a bribe, and an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget determined the proposal would cost taxpayers $1.2 trillion at a time when critics are calling for the Trump administration to reel in government spending on various projects during a nationwide affordability crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Celine Dion performs on the opening night of her residency at Paris La Défense Arena on September 12, 2026.
Samir Hussein/WireImage

Celine Dion Just Made Her Triumphant Return To The Stage After 6 Years—And She Sounds Incredible

There are comebacks, and then there’s Celine Dion walking back onto a Paris stage after six years and reminding everyone exactly who she is.

Over the weekend, the 58-year-old music icon took the stage at Plénitude Arena in Nanterre, just outside Paris, for her first full concert in more than six years. It was a milestone that once seemed anything but guaranteed amid her battle with stiff person syndrome.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mike Johnson; Brandon Herrera
CNN

Mike Johnson Slammed After Defending MAGA House Candidate Who Gave Babies NSFW Nickname In Sexist Rant

Gun-rights activist, firearms manufacturer, and Texas Republican House candidate Brandon Herrera has drawn widespread backlash over his repeated misogynistic attacks against women, for referring to children as "c*m trophies," and for calling a Nazi-era submachine gun "the original ghetto blaster."

Herrera posted all of this on his YouTube channel and stands behind all of it without apology.

Keep ReadingShow less