Irresponsible people will never do the right thing and they will find a way to make excuses. But that usually never works out well.
A person trying to avoid accountability for poor behavior will utter a phrase that they seem to think will exonerate them.
But most of us are keen enough to recognize what's happening here.
Seeking examples of this from strangers online, Redditor LilPeep1k asked:
"What phrase is a dead giveaway that the person talking is a piece of sh*t?"
Some people think recognition gives them permission for entitlement.
Familiarity
"Do you know who I am?"
"Also see: 'Do you know who my dad is?'"
– fuktardy
The Commercial Said It Best
"There was an old commercial with a student taking a proctored exam in a large classroom. He's late putting the exam on the proctor's desk and so the proctor won't accept his completed test. The student asks 'do you have any idea who I am?!' The proctor replies with 'no, you're late and I don't care who you are.'"
"The student grabs all the tests from the proctor's desk, adds his own to the pile and then shuffles them up and slaps the pile of tests on the desk. Makes eye contact with the proctor and replies 'good!' And then walks off."
"Since then I've always agreed this is the best way to use that line."
"Preemptive edit: pretty sure the commercial was for lottery tickets or something. It didn't really matter to the commercial. It was a long time ago I saw this commercial."
"Actual edit for the commercial: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yA4aRrbKsH0"
– HasHooves
Having A Connection
"'I know the manager' or any other authority figure that they think gives them priority or power over others."
– sbgarbage
Condescending
"Let me explain this in a language you can understand."
– TH3Generate
A person passing the blame on exes is highly suspect.
Behind The Phrase
"'All my exes are crazy' is priming you to not talk to the exes so you don't find out the person is a jerk. What's the common denominator here?"
– Its_Curse
The Guilty Ones Leave A Trail
"If you complain about smelling sh*t everywhere you go, check the bottom of your shoes."
– everylittlepiece
The Origin Of Crazy
"Any guy i've met with a genuine crazy ex, they never flat out say 'oh my ex was f'king crazy.' they usually subtlety mention really f'ked up things they did that messed them up in the long run, or they just don't mention anything regarding the ex at all."
"And any guy i've met who INSTANTLY says 'my ex was f'king crazy' is always the reason why their ex was crazy."
– urbanlulu
Take All Of Me
“If you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best.”
– persistent_polymath
No Remorse
"'that was so long ago, stop bringing up the past'. If they haven't apologised for something and are demanding you move on and forgive them, that's a cowards way of saying they don't feel sorry for what they did and are blaming you for being hurt"
– TheNameless00
It's not a contest. But some people think otherwise and believe their problems are bigger than others'.
Deeper Trauma
“My trauma is worse than yours”
– Lukmin1999
Tendency To One-Up Others
"I have so much trouble with this. I have ASD and ADHD which makes social situations complicated, so when I’m trying to relate to someone I end up just one-upping their story. I’m only trying to show that I empathize. Example: someone says 'my parents used to neglect me' so I reply 'yeah, my mom beat us with wooden spoons.' What I mean to convey is 'I empathize with having bad parents' but it comes off as 'well MY parents were worse!'"
"Thankfully my social circle is small and hasn’t changed in awhile, so they all know me well enough to understand my intentions."
– YourEngineerMom
Denial
"Knew a person who was kicked out their home for persistent drug use. Lived with friends for awhile then eventually got their own flat. Rather than rising to the occasion considered to shoot themselves in the foot, binge drinking and drug use instead of paying bills. Then would complain and cry constantly asif they weren’t the root of all their own problems. God forbid if anyone brought up their problems as theirs was worse."
– sexymelonboi
Stealing The Spotlight
“You’ve ruined my day”
"When somebody else is upset for good reason."
– tritoon140
The Grinch
"My ex-wife played this card constantly. It became a family joke, 'Mom says we ruined her [insert holiday here].'"
– BuddyJim30
Let's Make It About Me
"'You're lucky you're not in my situation.' After just opening up about something."
– wormsonastrings
You're So Lucky
"Just be glad it isn't you!"
"In response to a family member being diagnosed with cancer and not having long to live..."
– SwiftBronzeCX
Another annoying phrase is when people say "it's just how I was raised" when they're being accused of an indiscretion.
So, it's okay to be racist just because your parents were?
Nice try, but I don't think so. I call BS.
What phrases signal to you that the other person is a total fake?