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Original poster

What is the most smug thing someone has said to you?

149 replies

Forgottenidentity · 18/09/2025 12:47

I can think of a few…

He only has to look at me and I get pregnant.
(I just had an ectopic pregnancy)

We are lucky in my family… we don’t get cancer. ( just after my husband was diagnosed)

OP posts:
Starlight1984 · 18/09/2025 13:49

Forgottenidentity · 18/09/2025 12:47

I can think of a few…

He only has to look at me and I get pregnant.
(I just had an ectopic pregnancy)

We are lucky in my family… we don’t get cancer. ( just after my husband was diagnosed)

We are lucky in my family… we don’t get cancer.

I wouldn't say that was smug. I would say it was completely fucking thick though.

SomeLikeitSnot · 18/09/2025 14:04

I used to babysit a family who were £££, mum was a SAHM, had a pool, kids in private school etc. |She was awful though, used to screech at her children- horrible. I told her where I was going to uni (nothern city, we are from the home counties) and what I was studying (nursing) and she gave me the most sneery, rude look and I always 'why on earth why I choose that' and went on to lecture me on how successful her kids would be.
WELL....thanks to them following their old babysitter on SM I can see her DD1 is doing....fine, DS is a 'DJ' in south east asia doing a lot of drugs and other child is a struggling artist living off benefits.
How I wish I could meet up with her and tell her how successful in my job I am, how nice a home we have made and how well we are doing without my parents spending north of a £million on my education!

Ihateboris · 18/09/2025 14:12

A woman was in the hairdressers the other day bragging to her stylist that she'd made a huge profit on the sale of her Right to Buy council house....whilst another young woman was saying she thought she'd be living with her parents forever as there are no council houses available and she can't afford the saying high rents.

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Catpiece · 18/09/2025 14:13

Some of these examples go beyond smug. They’re just plain nasty

BobbieTables · 18/09/2025 14:16

Bananafofana · 18/09/2025 12:58

If we’re going for smug not just grossly insensitive :

  • well of course we’ve paid off our mortgage (£2.5m house)
  • well I don’t have to deal with homework or getting them to school (kids at boarding school)
(two different friends)

Are these just factual though? Especially if you asked/ were sharing experiences of these things?

Alwayslearning25 · 18/09/2025 14:20

Smugness, again like the teacher and offloading I was talking about my childrens tantrums to a colleague, oh mine never had tantrums because I'm strict. Caught me off guard as she's so lovely. Normally. Now I fine myself saying smug things to her about my daughter's high intelligence. I probably sound like a knob.

Fionasapples · 18/09/2025 14:23

My cousin who married for money- queen of the humblebrag-
I don't know what I'd do if I split up with DH as I've only got 2 houses.

I don't know if my new cleaner will be any good, I only got her from a magazine advert. Do you know The Lady?

The diamonds in my wedding ring are far too small.

Planesmistakenforstars · 18/09/2025 14:29

"I'm glad my daughter went to university and doesn't have to do manual labour" (I was her gardener.)

Chiefangel · 18/09/2025 14:29

Having been through the most imaginably traumatic and stressful time, a friend told me how they had paid their mortgage off with inheritance money they had received and had booked 2 abroad holidays, knowing that we can not even go away for a weekend due to our awful circumstances or even imagine a mortgage free house.

SirChenjins · 18/09/2025 14:50

From SIL - <patronising laugh> you still have a mortgage?!

That's the same sister in law who helped herself to ££££££££££££s from MiL's bank accounts and who hasn't worked in many years (no family, dependents, voluntary work, health conditions to prevent her from doing so, hobbies etc) but whose 3rd husband (2nd died and she took everything - she made sure his DC got nothing) earns big money and so paid off their mortgage.

Fuck OFF, SIL - at least we earn our own money (is what I thought but didn't say)

Icannotremembermyusername · 18/09/2025 15:06

oh my god....i think i have maybe said a couple of these things! I feel awful now, I must seem a very smug know it all 😫

wannabedogwoman · 18/09/2025 15:52

Cubs trip to the zoo. Smug Mum came along as a helper. At the start of the day, a zoo guide gave us a bit of a talk etc. When he asked for 'any questions' Smug Mum put her hand up and said 'Just to let everyone know, if Tarquin seems underwhelmed at any of the exhibits please don't worry- we usually go to Kenya to see animals. If anyone does have questions, he can probably answer them.'

Same Smug Mum at another event for cubs families told everyone 'Yes, we moved Tarquin to [local independent school]. I worked at [local state school where most of the cubs go] for years and the teachers in State Schools are just what's left over when all the decent ones have taken the private school jobs. It's probably OK if your child wants to work in a shop but obviously Tarquin is better than that'. Smug Mum was fully aware that several of the people she was talking to were state school teachers and all the other DC go to state schools. She has never, in fact, worked in a school but was on the PTA at the local school her child started at for a few months.

GlastoNinja · 18/09/2025 16:19

There’s a really smug thread on here at the moment, I don’t think I can link to it - but it’s the epitome of my diamond shoes are too tight.

IsEveryUserNameBloodyTaken · 18/09/2025 16:46

HateThursdays · 18/09/2025 13:34

My sibling said to me “if a woman can’t afford to give up work she shouldn’t have kids because it’s selfish” (her husband earns over 100k a year)

And same sibling when I was having fertility issues “some of us can have kids and some can’t, you sadly can’t”

same sibling when I was struggling with fertility issues when being lectured by my mother and her about something inconsequential - “listen to the Mums” with a smirk on her face.

Following my emergency C-section when I did eventually have children “some people say women who have C-sections aren’t real mothers” (of course she had had vaginal births).

I could write a book on her smugness and/or spitefulness!

Hold me back.I want to slap her and I don’t even know her.

YodasHairyButt · 18/09/2025 16:48

“I’d be horrified if my children asked for McDonalds”

Dublassie · 18/09/2025 16:51

wannabedogwoman · 18/09/2025 15:52

Cubs trip to the zoo. Smug Mum came along as a helper. At the start of the day, a zoo guide gave us a bit of a talk etc. When he asked for 'any questions' Smug Mum put her hand up and said 'Just to let everyone know, if Tarquin seems underwhelmed at any of the exhibits please don't worry- we usually go to Kenya to see animals. If anyone does have questions, he can probably answer them.'

Same Smug Mum at another event for cubs families told everyone 'Yes, we moved Tarquin to [local independent school]. I worked at [local state school where most of the cubs go] for years and the teachers in State Schools are just what's left over when all the decent ones have taken the private school jobs. It's probably OK if your child wants to work in a shop but obviously Tarquin is better than that'. Smug Mum was fully aware that several of the people she was talking to were state school teachers and all the other DC go to state schools. She has never, in fact, worked in a school but was on the PTA at the local school her child started at for a few months.

This cannot be true ??????!!!!!!

frozendaisy · 18/09/2025 16:54

holachicatita · 18/09/2025 12:51

A school mum told me once how lucky she was that her daughter only ate fruit and vegetables. She couldn't stand sweets or chocolate. I saw the same little darling devour a bag of haribos at a party the day before when her mum wasn't there 🤣

This is so common, we used to go park on way home and the mums would gather and there was always one with a salad box whilst the majority were deciding if today was a “ok you can have an ice cream” or not when the van inevitably turned up! We had decided to do a “not today” en masse rather than having some with some without.

Go to a party, same kids, carrot and cucumber batons untouched, more table decorations, bowl of hula hoops on the other hand, demolished!

TeddySchnauzer · 18/09/2025 16:56

For grossly insensitive, I have a comment I saw on here a few months ago, on a thread about what people use their credit cards for:
“Having to use your credit card for food shopping is really, really bad. I’d be bloody ashamed” 🤨

For ‘smug’ my example wasn’t actually said to me but to a school mum who was stood with me, by another mum who knew her and had just joined our conversation, on what we’re doing over the summer:
“We’re hopping over to Sardinia. Whacked it on a credit card and we’ll worry about it later, you’ve just got to haven’t you?!”
At this point, being a single mum and broke, I couldn’t even “whack” a book about Sardinia onto my own credit card, never mind a holiday there! I came away from that conversation feeling pretty crappy and like a total failure. One thing that it’s taught me is how simple, thoughtless chatter can unknowingly affect others.

JustStopItNorasaurus · 18/09/2025 17:02

Taking my nearly 3 autistic (though not yet diagnosed) DS and his newborn baby brother on my own to Australia to see family. It was a rough flight.

A year later my cousin came to the UK from Australia. With her single 3 year old child she travelled, her DH travelled and her mother travelled to help. I asked her when we spoke how the flight had gone and she said ; 'Oh fine. You just have to be organised, then there are no issues'.

It's gone into family folklore (not with her, she is very smug generally). Whenever anyone has a problem we tilt our heads and say faux sympathetically; 'have you tried just being organised?'.

Badgerandfox227 · 18/09/2025 17:15

Friend telling me they’d paid off their mortgage when they knew we were in difficult financial circumstances.

Flatbellyfella · 18/09/2025 17:15

At my wedding reception I overheard a group of my wife’s Aunts & friends saying my wife could have done better for herself choosing me, one said “she could have married my son Pete.” My wife never knew how horrible they were.

afaloren · 18/09/2025 17:17

I was telling someone (from a rich family which I knew but she seemed normal) how my first flat was a shithole and said something like, ‘Well nobody lives in a mansion for their first place do they?’ and she said, ‘Not if you’re raised with that expectation.’

Hmm
maudelovesharold · 18/09/2025 17:23

After being told by a Mum acquaintance about her dd’s exam success, and congratulating her -

“Oh, we expected her to do well, as the child of high achieving parents…”

I was literally speechless - no comeback at all!

Danikm151 · 18/09/2025 17:28

“My daughter is too mature to play with toys”

love your kid is 5 and just had a blast at my house…. Playing with toys!

dayswithaY · 18/09/2025 17:29

My children love good balsamic vinegar