Got a friend who knows everything?

LaughingWater

LaughingWater

Cathlete
I've been meaning to start this thread for months now.

Anyone else have a friend/family member/co-worker/neighbor who seems to know everything? And by that I mean, no matter what you say, this person either knows all about it, has seen it/done it, and in fact, has seen even more or done it even better!

It can be either good or bad ~ it doesn't matter. What matters is this person knows AAALLLL about it, and can provide loads of stories and information regarding the subject.

Don't bother trying to say, "One time, I..." because he/she will come back with a bigger and better experience! Even the most mundane of moments ~ a trip to the post office, for instance ~ can be one-upped by this person. You can almost imagine this individual starting every sentence with a competitive, "Oh yeah?!..."

I've been casually friendly with someone like this for about a year now. At first, it was interesting. I was often a good audience, "Wow! Really? I didn't know that. That's awesome!" Then I noticed an obvious pattern and found it kind of funny (I confess to baiting this person a few times, just to see if I was imagining things).

Now it's starting to irritate me. :p Of course, it's not the worse thing in the world ~ hardly a big deal at all ~ but I thought I'd chat about it here...see if anyone else has some good stories on the subject. The mild irritation I do experience after a conversation with this friend is often diffused by a bit of chuckling over it. :)
 
Do you know my sister's boyfriend too!!!????!!!! :eek: You must, because that is HIM to a "T"! It doesn't matter what you say he has a story & is extremely knowledgable about it ALL!! Thank goodness he lives in Florida & I'm in NY so encounters are rare.
A book I read stated that being pridefull like that is actually a sin. Of course I guess he already knows that too!! LOL :rolleyes:

You are right, I guess you have to be able to laugh it off & take them in small doses. For me, once every 3 ysr or so!!
 
I know him!!! He also knows my motivations and feelings and better than I do too - and he knows how to parent my kids better than I do, how to clean better than I do, how to be a wife better than I do, how to make my daily decisions better... I bet he remembers my childhood better than I do! In fact, I am babysitting his son right now, chip off the old block he is, and having the time of my life! :p I absolutely love his wife, and that is his redeeming quality. ;)

Missy
 
LaughingWater said:
I've been meaning to start this thread for months now.

Anyone else have a friend/family member/co-worker/neighbor who seems to know everything? And by that I mean, no matter what you say, this person either knows all about it, has seen it/done it, and in fact, has seen even more or done it even better!

It can be either good or bad ~ it doesn't matter. What matters is this person knows AAALLLL about it, and can provide loads of stories and information regarding the subject.

Don't bother trying to say, "One time, I..." because he/she will come back with a bigger and better experience! Even the most mundane of moments ~ a trip to the post office, for instance ~ can be one-upped by this person. You can almost imagine this individual starting every sentence with a competitive, "Oh yeah?!..."

I've been casually friendly with someone like this for about a year now. At first, it was interesting. I was often a good audience, "Wow! Really? I didn't know that. That's awesome!" Then I noticed an obvious pattern and found it kind of funny (I confess to baiting this person a few times, just to see if I was imagining things).

Now it's starting to irritate me. :p Of course, it's not the worse thing in the world ~ hardly a big deal at all ~ but I thought I'd chat about it here...see if anyone else has some good stories on the subject. The mild irritation I do experience after a conversation with this friend is often diffused by a bit of chuckling over it. :)
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I hate to admit it, but I think that describes me perfectly! I remember some relative coming up to my mom at a family reunion when I was 10 or so, sayin "Wow! That kid has an opinion on everything!" It's not one of my more charming traits.
 
Aw, opinions are okay. :) Nothing wrong with that.

No, this friend one-ups me (best term I can come up with to describe it) every single chance she gets. I could say "blue," and there's a good chance I'd hear about the origin of blue, how blue affects us in our daily lives, how her ancestors created blue, and how she harnesses the power of blue to better herself.
 
LaughingWater said:
Aw, opinions are okay. :) Nothing wrong with that.

No, this friend one-ups me (best term I can come up with to describe it) every single chance she gets. I could say "blue," and there's a good chance I'd hear about the origin of blue, how blue affects us in our daily lives, how her ancestors created blue, and how she harnesses the power of blue to better herself.
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That can't be, because it was MY ancestors that created blue and ME that patented the blue energy process that will heal all wounds.
 
I have a good girl friend who is also guilty of doing this (as I'm sure I have been as well). I just tell her straight out - "Focus Tebeth, we're talking about ME right now, not you!" She'll laugh once she realizes what she was doing and then she zips it and lets me finish my story. I think sometimes people don't realize they are one-upping you necessarily because they are just trying to "identify" with your story. I know that's what happens with me. Someone will tell me that their sister is going through a horrible divorce and my first instinct might be to tell about how my sister went through hers as a way of identifying with what she is going through. I have to force myself to zip it. ;) Then there are those people who just have to outdo everyone and always try to make everything about them. I'm not friends with those people. ;)

Lori - LMAO at your description of your friend and "blue"!!!
 
Liann said:
I think sometimes people don't realize they are one-upping you necessarily because they are just trying to "identify" with your story. I know that's what happens with me. Someone will tell me that their sister is going through a horrible divorce and my first instinct might be to tell about how my sister went through hers as a way of identifying with what she is going through. I have to force myself to zip it. ;)
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ITA. I'm guilty of this as well, particularly in forced social situations.
 
ME!!! I've been told twice in the last couple of weeks, completely unsolicited, that I "know something about everything." I've been told that in the past, as well. Although they all insist it's in a good way!
 
I understand relating. That makes perfect sense actually. People bond over shared experiences. And I certainly don't mind learning from others. I learn a ton here!

My friend, however, has experiences most people never have. And a lot of them. It feels less like relating and more like *bonk! over the head* "I'm better than you."
 
I know someone like that!

What makes it worse is when she isn't one upping, she is either promoting herself, her husband, or her child like a sales person. She also gets real close when she is talking to you - right in your personal space.

For the last three years her attention/conversations have been focused on "me, me, me, fantastic me, school school school." (she went back and needs to tell everyone every single time she sees them - uh, how could I forget?) Before that it was, "me, me, me, wealthy, superior, classy me, me, me."

Actually seeing her in action, not just with me but with others, has been a good lesson in humility.

My annoying liability is I always want to help out - be of service - offer "what has worked for me" advice. I need to be a better listener when it comes to people and their troubles, and not offer aid unless they ask for it.
 
Yes I do.....

and I divorced him about 10 years ago now! :eek: Happy day that was, I'll tell you, in spite of everything.

Holy Moly, his specialty was and is misery. If you had a bad day - his was much worse. If you had trouble sleeping last night - he hasn't slept.... ever...in his entire lifetime.

He's never had a good day, a good meal, a good anything.

And he'll tell you all about it in excruciating detail.....

Ugh. Apologies for X bashing but wow, I don't miss that one bit.
 
Lori - I think at some point you are going to have to gently (or not so gently) let her know that she is doing this. She may not even realize it. My DH has had to tell me to just shut up (nicer than that, but that was the general gist) and listen to his story before and I am a lot more careful now about not sounding like a know it all - which I do tend to be with him and I didn't even realize it until he pointed it out. As with my friend, I finally came out and told her that sometimes I like to just tell her a story without hearing something that happened even better or worse to her. Now, I can just jokingly tell her to shut up since we've already had that conversation. If I just let her keep doing it though, I would eventually have blown up at her and maybe ended up ending the friendship.
 
There is an entire section of my family (that thankfully lives far, far away) that would outdo, out opinionate, outtalk, and out show-off everyone you know. How's that for one-upping? :p

Seriously, though, these people are messed up. One small, but sick, example: Week before last was my grandmother's funeral. Afterward, my mom said that she thought it turned out very nice and was exactly what she would have wanted - low-key, quiet, and respectful. So what do these people do? Roll their eyes and bring out videos and pictures of the funeral of my cousin's wife, who recently passed away from cancer. They had to prove that her funeral was WAY better than grandma's. How pathetic is that???

So is my story better than yours? Huh?

I also think it's a good point that many of us do this kind of thing as a way to relate. Not the above noted relatives, but many of us more normal folk. I have such a difficult time with conversations that I find myself telling stories about myself so that I can connect somehow, but I do realize how it sounds. I'm working on that! One more annoying trait :D
 
story1267 said:
If you had trouble sleeping last night - he hasn't slept.... ever...in his entire lifetime,
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:D !!!!!!!!!!! That really came across funny to me. That's very similar to my one friend. If my 10 y/o daughter does "A," then I hear how her daughter did "A, B, and C...at the age of 4!"

Amber, you're right. That's a good idea. I've thought about saying very casually, "Hey man...it's just me. You don't need to prove anything to me." But we're not close ~ we're friends through our kids ~ so I'm not quite ready to have that conversation yet. (I'm such a chicken!)

Janis, did you ever watch Seinfeld? Sounds like that woman is a Close Talker!

Good point about the lesson in humility.
 
Fidget Queen said:
So what do these people do? Roll their eyes and bring out videos and pictures of the funeral of my cousin's wife, who recently passed away from cancer. They had to prove that her funeral was WAY better than grandma's.
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Oh, wow! Okay...that without question is THE best one-up story I have ever heard!
 
My sister reads reads reads so she knows a little about EVERYTHING. It sure is H*LL to play Trivial Pursuit with someone like that!:rolleyes:
 
My DH is a COMPLETE know-it-all AND has a story for every possible situation. He knows how every substance in the entire universe has been made, what its uses are, and the likelihood of human survival only on a particular substance. Also, like Suzanne's X, his daily experiences are just that much more intense than anyone elses. Never mention around my DH that you feel like you are coming down with a cold. He'll have something bordering on pneumonia the next day! I don't know how I put up with him:eek:!

Carrie
 
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