I have always hated being given unsolicited advice. If I ask for your opinion, I will welcome what you have to say. But if I haven’t opened up the floor for others to share feedback, I’m probably not interested. Especially if you want to be extremely patronizing!
One curious Reddit user asked others to share the most condescending advice they’ve ever received, and people did not disappoint. From strangers making assumptions about anything from a person’s income to their physical strength, we’ve gathered the most infuriating stories below. Keep reading to also find a conversation with Modern Therapy's Gabriela Ortiz, LPC, and be sure to upvote the condescending tips that would make you roll your eyes!
#21
A co-worker treats everyone he works with as a first year apprentice and talks to people like they are stupid despite having the lowest level of education i.e. he just has his basic trade certificates while those around him have all gone on to higher education. He also has the least amount of skills and experience as in he is an average welder/fabricator whereas those around him can also do fitting work and/or machining.
I had just started with the company so I got the job of working with him because no one else would and he tried to explain to me how to use a bandsaw like I was a child, I told him to f**k off and that I would do the job myself. So far he hasn’t spoke to me since which is a bonus in itself.
I had just started with the company so I got the job of working with him because no one else would and he tried to explain to me how to use a bandsaw like I was a child, I told him to f**k off and that I would do the job myself. So far he hasn’t spoke to me since which is a bonus in itself.
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72points
#22
At age 19 (2005) I was replacing the fuel sending unit in my mothers car on a Saturday afternoon. Pretty standard job; disconnect the lines, drop the tank straps, tank basically falls out in your hands. Easy Peasy. It's an intimidating task for the first two or three times but then you figure out the secret to all mechanicdom; there's not a single part on an automobile you can't remove and reinstall successfully if you're reasonably detail-oriented and cautious.
One of my uncle's friends, classical "greatest generation" a*****e, showed up to visit and quietly (by deaf senior standards) asked my uncle "He's always struck me as kind of useless, all I've known him to do is computer stuff. Does he know what he's doing?"
Meanwhile, three weeks earlier he'd brought his prized vintage (and very rusted out/worn out) 1960 Chevrolet C20 pickup to a local mechanic's shop to have it fixed. It'd spun (stacked) a bearing and he'd opted to have the engine rebuilt while it was in the shop.
If Mr. "Greatest Generation" had bothered to speak to the lowly mechanic rather than just hob-nobbing with his wealthy pal who owned the shop, he'd have learned that ****I**** was the mechanic who had rebuilt the engine in his prized clapped out shitbox pickup.
One of my uncle's friends, classical "greatest generation" a*****e, showed up to visit and quietly (by deaf senior standards) asked my uncle "He's always struck me as kind of useless, all I've known him to do is computer stuff. Does he know what he's doing?"
Meanwhile, three weeks earlier he'd brought his prized vintage (and very rusted out/worn out) 1960 Chevrolet C20 pickup to a local mechanic's shop to have it fixed. It'd spun (stacked) a bearing and he'd opted to have the engine rebuilt while it was in the shop.
If Mr. "Greatest Generation" had bothered to speak to the lowly mechanic rather than just hob-nobbing with his wealthy pal who owned the shop, he'd have learned that ****I**** was the mechanic who had rebuilt the engine in his prized clapped out shitbox pickup.
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71points
#23
A dude was trying to explain to me how "historical military" communicated when things like radios didn't exist. He was going on and on about the drums and these little wooden flute things called fifes and how the songs played by them now a days were once used to relay commands on battlefields.
I play the fife in a fire and drum corps. The majority of the songs he was mentioning were jam tunes played for fun to lighten the mood. Some were even freaking sea shanties.
I play the fife in a fire and drum corps. The majority of the songs he was mentioning were jam tunes played for fun to lighten the mood. Some were even freaking sea shanties.
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67points
#24
I was a reference librarian for many years (I'm retired now). While on duty one Saturday afternoon I was approached by a gentleman accompanied by a young woman. The guy was obviously trying to impress the lady with his superior intelligence and research skills. He was certain the such as such a resource existed and he had used it right there in my department many times. I was certain he was confusing it with something else. But I was super courteous, of course because that's my job.) He was obnoxious as hell, kept interupting me while I was trying to explain what was what. The lady seemed real embarrassed. Finally I started ignoring the guy and just addressed the lady. The guy stomped away into the book stacks to find it himself. Without his interference the lady and I were able to figure out what she needed - it was in a totally different section of the library - and they left. On her way out the lady shot me a captivatingly beautiful smile which I remember to this day. On his way out he slipped two bucks into my shirt pocket "as a tip". He thought he was insulting me. Being right is the best revenge!
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65points
#25
When I was working as a gardener, by boss was picking up a bag of mulch from home depot, when someone said, "you need help carrying that to your car, little lady."
The "little lady" got to her. She runs her own gardening company, and will regular haul 50 bags of mulch in an afternoon.
The "little lady" got to her. She runs her own gardening company, and will regular haul 50 bags of mulch in an afternoon.
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62points
#26

That I need to get some nutritional education. I'm a nutritionist.
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61points
#27
Not really advice but one time I told a girl I really enjoyed the book Animal Farm and she just turned to me and said something like “but you don’t study history so you don’t understand all the complexities in it like I do so you couldn’t possibly enjoy it”.
Not that it matters, but history was mandatory at our school.
Not that it matters, but history was mandatory at our school.
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53points
#28

This isn't quite what the post says but I have a black belt in a martial art thing. I went to a class on a different day than I usually go, and wasn't wearing my belt. Some d******d kept trying to teach me basic blocks during drill and being really condescending about it.
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51points
#29
I work in a high SES area and live in a low SES area.
We hired a new employee who lives in the wealthiest suburb of this area. We were casually talking and she asked me where I live, I told her and her whole demeanor towards me changed and she started giving me money saving advice so I can "get out of there" and then started grilling me on where I plan on moving to when I have the money.
I love where I live. I'm looking for a job closer to home. I have no intention of moving any time soon.
We hired a new employee who lives in the wealthiest suburb of this area. We were casually talking and she asked me where I live, I told her and her whole demeanor towards me changed and she started giving me money saving advice so I can "get out of there" and then started grilling me on where I plan on moving to when I have the money.
I love where I live. I'm looking for a job closer to home. I have no intention of moving any time soon.
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51points
#30

A store clerk told me I should save for a car because I went to the store while it was raining. I just said "yeah maybe".
I have a car, I just don't like to drive for less than 2 blocks.
I have a car, I just don't like to drive for less than 2 blocks.
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49points
#31
That simply working "real hard" would guarantee I'd get rich and have a good life.
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46points
#32
I worked as a retail manager and one of my staff asked me how to input a %off coupon in the till, as they had only done $off coupons before. The customer asked us for a calculator to show us how to calculate a percentage. I was going to a top engineering school at the time and my staff member went to a prestigious university as well. We just gave each other a look and I taught her how to enter the discount into the till. The assumptions made by the customer that we were uneducated pissed me off, but I don’t mind being underestimated.
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39points
#33
Told to look into a profession more suited to my ‘shy disposition’ when I said I wanted to become a therapist. They suggested something like a librarian. I’m currently studying psychology and plan to pursue therapy after my undergrad and PhD.
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39points
#34
I've been working in restaurants for years now. Barman and server, mostly. There's this one guy who comes in super often, very haughty, very self-important. Runs some kind of business, import-export of something I cannot be bothered to care about. Anyways, I'm glad to allow him to pontificate about his Important Business-icity(TM), as he tips well.
Anyways, one day, he just turns to me and says: "see, the problem with you, u/el_pobbster, is that you work too hard for your money. What you need to do is to make your money work for you!"
...I had to hold back *so hard* about telling him about my roughly 25k investment portfolio.
Anyways, one day, he just turns to me and says: "see, the problem with you, u/el_pobbster, is that you work too hard for your money. What you need to do is to make your money work for you!"
...I had to hold back *so hard* about telling him about my roughly 25k investment portfolio.
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39points
#35
Straight out of college, I worked in a management training program where the company made us do every single grunt job to really learn the ropes for the first 4-6 months. My aunt was dating a nice older gentleman who had a daughter my age who worked as a receptionist somewhere. We had a family get-together right after I got off work, and this man saw me in my grubby clothes, not knowing the backstory of my chosen career path. He asked if I had even finished high school and suggested I might be interested in a “nice office job” like his daughter had.
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36points
#36
Posted on Facebook asking about deodorant that won’t irritate your underarms. Someone younger than me commented and recommended a product, I thanked him. He continued to comment 2-3 more times about “tips”.
“Oh and just so you know old spice is juvenile”
“And axe body spray won’t make the ladies come running, it usually makes them run away”
Yes, thank you I am a 22 year old college grad. I survived middle school, I know axe doesn’t make panties drop.
“Oh and just so you know old spice is juvenile”
“And axe body spray won’t make the ladies come running, it usually makes them run away”
Yes, thank you I am a 22 year old college grad. I survived middle school, I know axe doesn’t make panties drop.
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34points
#37
My username is PokemonTrainerLily. Some time ago a guy posted a photo in a random sub with a Pokémon t-shirt and I commented "I love your shirt!". Some dude then replied to me "that's the Pokémon mimikyu on the shirt, did you know?" or something like that.
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26points
#38
My son’s girlfriend likes to hear herself talk so she speaks on EVERYTHING. She tried to give advice and tell me what I should or shouldn’t do when discussing topics. I finally had to sit her down and say listen if I need your help I’ll ask. I’m 40 years old. I don’t need to be told how to do anything. Thanks for the advice but please just keep it to yourself unless I ask for advice. I’m not a total b***h. She just talks way to much and I don’t need her help.
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25points
#39
Bosses friend Went on about fish that can breath air and how they are so exotic when I literally have kept them for 2 years, I told him that I have kept them and he realised I know my s**t when it come to aquariums.
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23points
#40
I worked at a grocery store once. A group of me and a few other emoyees were entertaining an older man when he suddenly asked about the frequency of how often we get our paychecks. We kind of awkwardly answered, and he got a little twinkle in his eye and he threw a little " what a great lesson in saving and money management that must be". We were all in our mid to late twenties, and didn't really say anything until he walked away. He seemed a bit ignorant to the fact that we kind of had to be experts in that field in order to pay our bills every month or we were f****d out a place to live.
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14points


