What's the term in English to describe this kind of person?

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Greentea
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17 Mar 2009, 11:54 am

I've been looking for a term to describe a certain kind of behavior, a term that exists in Spanish but I don't know in English. The person I mean tends to be most of the time in a laughing mood, mostly laughing at others and at situations. They behave as if they were silly but they're not really silly. They tend to talk loudly and when asked a serious question they'll answer mocking the question (and indirectly, the person who asked it). They're mostly concerned with looking cool and unbothered by anything and looking down on everyone else with desdain except their close friends.

Eg:

A) I rescued a duckling from the ice covered lake and now it's at my house.
B) LOL you should cook it for dinner! LOL
A) I'm trying to learn about how to care for it till the spring, when he'll be able to go back to the lake...
B) Haha why don't you put it in the freezer so it starts getting used to winters? haha

A) So how did it go at the exam?
B) LOL I must've gotten a zero, I hadn't studied anything at all haha
A) Are you worried?
B) Don't worry be happy! Haha!

A) I heard you were in Europe for the holidays, did you have a good time?
B) Haha gootime, gootime! haha
A) What countries were you in?
B) All of them! LOL Just went chasing after each blonde that passed by hahaha LOL


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Fnord
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17 Mar 2009, 11:56 am

The technical term, I think, is "Jerk" for Americans and "Wanker" for Brits.


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17 Mar 2009, 11:58 am

I can think of several but the best one probably would be narcissist, a person who is entirely obessed with oneself to the disregard of everyone else.

The jokes and laughter are part of his personality, and the jokes are the way he gains dominance in the social hierarchy.



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17 Mar 2009, 12:21 pm

THe best I can think of is "flippant", but that doesn't really convey the negativity. Out of interest, what's the spanish word?
Also, in defence of this hypothetical guy's personality, at least he's original. Better than standing around all day trading trite sentimentality.



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17 Mar 2009, 12:54 pm

Is this someones style of written communication, rather than verbal? You use LOL a few times, so maybe this is a writing style.

I've met people who are like this in real life. I don't know if there *is* a specific English word. "Jerk" is a good start, but not specific enough. There are other types of jerk. Same with "idiot". For the people I've met, "irritating" or "insufferable" are words I would use. But then I get accused of taking things too seriously and being jealous of someone who just likes to "ave a larf".

In a way, it's much like most men talk when they're in the bar with their mates, anyway! I must confess to having been in situations where everybody spent the whole evening trying to "talk the most idiot talk". Something to do with men being afraid to admit they care about anything, I guess.

So, after much contemplation, the word your looking for is: Man. LOL LOL LOL


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benjimanbreeg
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17 Mar 2009, 1:05 pm

yep, loser, wanker, dropkick.


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ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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17 Mar 2009, 1:20 pm

Hmm. Sounds like the person in mind is using that as a front, he's fronting on you. Probably has a fragile ego and doesn't want you to see his weak spots so he covers by being obnoxious. The words I would use to describe him are: impossible to get along with. One word? Miscreant, maybe?



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17 Mar 2009, 1:31 pm

'Flippant' is the word that immediately springs to mind. The word can have derogatory connotations or can be used objectively to describe someone's style.



Stray-Ana
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17 Mar 2009, 1:53 pm

Haha @ W@nker - that is a great all encompassing term indeed, one of my faves!

Maybe the word arrogant could be used to describe the person's behaviour in your example, also?

On looking back at your examples of his replies, he / she really does sound like an annoying pr!ck [<< another descriptive term you could use if the exact term can not be found!]



Last edited by Stray-Ana on 17 Mar 2009, 2:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Stray-Ana
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17 Mar 2009, 2:00 pm

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
Probably has a fragile ego and doesn't want you to see his weak spots so he covers by being obnoxious


Obnoxious seems a good one too.



outlier
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17 Mar 2009, 2:28 pm

Fecetious.

Edit: Sorry, spelling. Facetious.



Last edited by outlier on 17 Mar 2009, 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

i_wanna_blue
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17 Mar 2009, 2:33 pm

A poop of the ninkum variety.



capriwim
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17 Mar 2009, 2:35 pm

I actually find this is a really common communication style in England (at least the south of England). People who use it aren't necessarily wankers. They're just conforming to social norms, so that they don't get excluded. And normally, unless they are really dense, they can temper their flippancy when something really serious happens - otherwise they would lose their social standing and be considered really insensitive and inappropriate.



Stray-Ana
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17 Mar 2009, 2:50 pm

capriwim wrote:
I actually find this is a really common communication style in England (at least the south of England). People who use it aren't necessarily wankers. They're just conforming to social norms, so that they don't get excluded. And normally, unless they are really dense, they can temper their flippancy when something really serious happens - otherwise they would lose their social standing and be considered really insensitive and inappropriate.


True I am British and it has always seemed very common amongst British men especially - Someone I 'know' is very typical of it - I really can't stand him at all or other people like him.



Greentea
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17 Mar 2009, 3:14 pm

The term in Spanish is "guarango".

Indeed, I used to belong to a British website forum and left because the guys behaved like this so much, and when someone posted a very interesting topic, they'd ruin the thread with this kind of behavior and prevent any serious discussion. The first example I gave in the opening post is from that forum, indeed. So what's the term in the UK?


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Marcia
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17 Mar 2009, 4:42 pm

Sounds like a wanker to me!