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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Humble bragging

290 replies

Feckingfeck · 03/05/2022 10:45

I have only come across this term on MN but i think I wintessed it first hand... whats it all about?

Family in lemur enclosure at zoo talking to keeper.

Keeper "you can get a little closer if you want"

Woman "we don't need too thanks we honey mooned in Madagascar so we have seen so many lemurs up close"

Keeper "oh okay, bet that was great"

Woman "it was amaaaazing... we could hear them all around our cabin at night aaaaahahahahhaha" (not sure why this was funny- but apparently it was hilarious)

Don't get me wrong I wasn't jealous in the slightest... nothing i would be creeped out by more than animals at night...

It just felt like one up man ship at its finest. I mean why go in there if you only want to belittle the experience Confused

Whats the worst humble brag you have witnessed?

OP posts:
MyCatIsAJerk · 04/05/2022 04:06

On Facebook or said so that many can hear:

Oh, we’re only going to the South of France this Easter because we spent Christmas in Hawaii.

JangolinaPitt · 04/05/2022 05:05

Maydaysoonenough · 03/05/2022 12:12

Last time we walked through a lemer walkway a family were telling their dc c to look at the monkeys.. Multiple adults.

🤣

Backtoblack1 · 04/05/2022 05:22

Harry Potter in Latin has tickled me! 🤣

JangolinaPitt · 04/05/2022 05:37

La Snobby Cow Boutique
😂

Bestoptionhelp · 04/05/2022 05:49

One person I know didn’t have a pot to piss in until she found a rich man - now she continuously posts pics of her amazing house, holidays, designer clothes, flash cars (all with cringe worthy hashtags of loving life driving my brand new convertible etc etc)
I’m so tempted to write “it’s amazing what you can have when you marry well” 😁
It’s not that I don’t wish her well btw, I just find her constant showing off eye rolling, especially when she hasn’t earned the luxuries she has herself.

Another person also posts constant pics of their obvious wealth. For example, latest pic was with a caption of her dog, but the dog was barely visible in the sprawling garden. Other pics she posts always seem to have a Louis Vuitton bag placed in sight, or a Gucci scarf draped over a chair along with a caption of “I’ve been cleaning 3 bathrooms all morning”.
Erm, not really news worthy, cleaning, but anything to post a pic of her house and the amount of rooms she has has to be posted.
She’ll also ask questions such as “where can I get a light fixed for my 2021 BMW?”

Maybe contact a garage or your local dealership?

“when does term start at ( gives name of private school) do you know?”

Maybe find out by googling/contacting the actual School or pm other parents?

MrsLargeEmbodied · 04/05/2022 05:57

a friend said her parents were invited to the queens garden party again

CounsellorTroi · 04/05/2022 06:08

shivawn · 03/05/2022 18:40

@CounsellorTroi On what planet is this a humble brag? You sound like a seriously bitter person.

Show quote history

Ok so it’s not technically a humblebrag. And it is lovely that they feel that way, of course it is. But this is a person who barely lets a day go by without posting a cute picture of their apparently angelic children and how lucky and blessed they are.

tomatoandherbs · 04/05/2022 06:14

cleanasawhistle · 04/05/2022 02:22

Said very loudly outside nursey....Jack darling dont get crumbs in the car car,you know daddy has to give 3 executives a lift to a meeting tomorrow

Really
is that bragging about the fact your husband is driving 3 execs?

she’s not saying her husband is one of be execs. She’s saying her husband is driving execs

CounsellorTroi · 04/05/2022 06:23

“Driving someone” and “giving someone a lift” are not necessarily the same thing. I don’t think you can infer that her husband is a chauffeur or official driver or something.

50ShadesOfCatholic · 04/05/2022 06:33

CounsellorTroi · 04/05/2022 06:08

Ok so it’s not technically a humblebrag. And it is lovely that they feel that way, of course it is. But this is a person who barely lets a day go by without posting a cute picture of their apparently angelic children and how lucky and blessed they are.

Show quote history

That isn’t bragging, it’s just dribble. You can click to unfollow

tomatoandherbs · 04/05/2022 06:46

CounsellorTroi · 04/05/2022 06:23

“Driving someone” and “giving someone a lift” are not necessarily the same thing. I don’t think you can infer that her husband is a chauffeur or official driver or something.

Exactly
She’s not saying “oh daddy is an exec”
so whilst we don’t know what the heck he is. Driver or exec
It is not bragging. Unless you’re one to aways see shadows

tomatoandherbs · 04/05/2022 06:47

Ah @CounsellorTroi you were the one who views a mother saying her daughter is thoughtful and kind as bragging

so I suppose we’re never going to agree!

FangsForTheMemory · 04/05/2022 07:15

TawnyPippit · 03/05/2022 13:44

Someone told me, with a rueful shake of their head, that they weren’t really able to make sushi as they found it very hard to cook the rice so that it was sticky - whatever they did their rice always came out beautifully dry and fluffy.

🙄

‘Oh what a pity you didn’t know there are different types of rice,’ would be my reply to that one.

miklas · 04/05/2022 07:37

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

eastegg · 04/05/2022 07:46

Gagaandgag · 04/05/2022 01:16

Last Friday night I went for drinks with my cousin who is a year younger than me. She has no DC. After a few drinks…

“But it’s been so hard having a higher IQ than you. I wish I could just be a SAHM like you. I wish company hadn’t headhunted me and offered me the 100k+ job and then company fought hard for me so I reluctantly agreed to stay! (Rolling her eyes and sighing) If only my life was as easy as yours!”

No joke.
For context I’m not one to brag about anything but I was a successful teacher before I had kids and now I home educate them because they have challenging SEN! 🤣

After this we went home and she had called us an Uber. I’ve never been in one because I’ve never needed to. I started telling the guy my address -

Cousin laughing “Oh please excuse her she doesn’t get ubers” (eye roll)
To me - “Its ok! Relax. It’s all booked in” in patronising tone.

I mean she has always had a superior complex and I’ve let it go and laughed it off but this one irritated me! Fancy telling someone you have a higher IQ than them 🤣

Irrelevant to the thread but I am a semi-Sahm with a previous ‘proper career’ who also got an Uber for the first time last Friday night! Spooky! No-one made dick remarks to me though. I’m very sorry about your twatty cousin.

Llamasally · 04/05/2022 07:48

NippyWoowoo · 03/05/2022 13:36

Or the threads here of ones complaining that they don't qualify for the 30 hours/tax free childcare because they earn over the threshold 😢

It's 100K NET, I think you'll be fine

@NippyWoowoo it’s not net, it’s gross

TrufflesForBreakfast · 04/05/2022 08:04

More of a stealth brag this one. Someone I know once posted a picture of one of her dds lounging on the sofa in her very beautiful sitting room with the caption:
^Exeat and no competitions this weekend is the perfect excuse to do nothing!
^
Boom. Private school, horses, beautiful house and busy busy children all in a few words and a carefully angled picture.

tomatoandherbs · 04/05/2022 08:05

This thread is an insight into how dark some people view the world. Seeing bragging where I just see a conversation starter or someone proud of something or just a throw away comment.

I think I’ll stick with my way of viewing the world!

TrufflesForBreakfast · 04/05/2022 08:05

Gagaandgag · 04/05/2022 01:16

Last Friday night I went for drinks with my cousin who is a year younger than me. She has no DC. After a few drinks…

“But it’s been so hard having a higher IQ than you. I wish I could just be a SAHM like you. I wish company hadn’t headhunted me and offered me the 100k+ job and then company fought hard for me so I reluctantly agreed to stay! (Rolling her eyes and sighing) If only my life was as easy as yours!”

No joke.
For context I’m not one to brag about anything but I was a successful teacher before I had kids and now I home educate them because they have challenging SEN! 🤣

After this we went home and she had called us an Uber. I’ve never been in one because I’ve never needed to. I started telling the guy my address -

Cousin laughing “Oh please excuse her she doesn’t get ubers” (eye roll)
To me - “Its ok! Relax. It’s all booked in” in patronising tone.

I mean she has always had a superior complex and I’ve let it go and laughed it off but this one irritated me! Fancy telling someone you have a higher IQ than them 🤣

I'd have told anyone who spoke to me like that to fuck off. And I'm normally very polite.

TrufflesForBreakfast · 04/05/2022 08:08

planetme · 03/05/2022 18:44

Oh god I've got to admit I've done braggy social media stuff in the past

I've done the new nails on a bmw steering wheel 😳😳
(Said bmw wasn't even mine! It was Dh's company car)

The casual boarding pass / designer bag thing (we didn't go first class though)

Pics on fb the day I bought my last house

Pics on fb of my car (Porsche) again the day I bought it. Disclaimer - it is 20 years old and one of the cheaper models

In my defence I spent years being absolutely skint and struggling. and during that period a lot of "friends" looked down on us as a family so tbh showing my successes was a bit of a fuck you to those ones

Its a bit twatty though regardless so I do try and rein it in now

You see this is why I HATE social media, esp FB and Insta. It turns what are normally nice-sounding people like you into showoffs.

Very few of the things mentioned in this thread are bad things to be proud or happy about, but it's the need to broadcast them on SM that is knobby.

Kudos to you though planetme for owning it! Grin

Octomore · 04/05/2022 08:10

tomatoandherbs · 04/05/2022 08:05

This thread is an insight into how dark some people view the world. Seeing bragging where I just see a conversation starter or someone proud of something or just a throw away comment.

I think I’ll stick with my way of viewing the world!

Yes! I agree.

planetme · 04/05/2022 08:30

@TrufflesForBreakfast

I completely agree, as I say part of mine is because I was so skint in the past and I am happy things are better and yes I may want certain prior to know about this but it is still very knobby behaviour and I'm embarrassed 🙈

There could be a whole discussion on how people who are lovely in rl turn into knobs on SM. And it's not just bragging, it's for all sorts of annoying behaviours

Psychologists would have a field day in fact I bet if I googled there's been studies done etc

Original poster
Feckingfeck · 04/05/2022 08:41

PutYourBackIntoit · 04/05/2022 03:07

What type of Lemurs were they?

Ring tail 🦨

And ehmm... brown ones 🤓🙄

OP posts:
Gagaandgag · 04/05/2022 08:53

I felt the top part of my story is a brag and not irrelevant to the thread

I added in the bottom part for context in the story

Dudds · 04/05/2022 08:55

Many years ago I was a broke single mum, living on benefits whilst at college. I didn't have my own car and would borrow my parents car quite often. My dream car at the time was a top-of-the-range Ford Focus (I was a wannabe boy racer) but as it was out of my league I had been looking for a second hand Focus. That also was financially out of my league

At this time I was friends with a woman who was married, professional career and wealthy. They were "real" middle class in that they weren't bothered about their social class, they were just who they were - no airs and graces, never looked down on anyone, just a really lovely family (their family car was a battered old Focus, weirdly enough!)

Anyway, I'm at one of their daughter's birthday parties with my daughter and sat amongst the other mums (all desperate to out-do each other and be more middle class than the other). Many things were said that had me hiding my giggles in my cup of tea, but the one that made me really think "what the...." was when the topic of discussion turned to cars:

Woman 1 "did Tony get the Jag?"
Woman 2 "no, he decided on a Porsche in the end. Totally unpractical, can't use it as a family car so I've got a new Focus for ferrying the kids around. Bit chavvy but it was cheap enough"

  1. the host's Focus was on the drive
  2. I balked at the "cheap", not jealousy just a slap of reality about those who have and those who don't!

(i got my top of the range Focus a few years later, it cost a fortune in petrol and was constantly needing repairs. I now drive a boring yet reliable Suzuki 😂)