How many times have you rolled up somewhere on your Pan or Flathead and found someone in the gathering crowd make some seemingly authoritative statement about your bike, or Harley history that you know shows that they haven't a clue?
There's a word to describe them: ultracrepidarian ( ultra-crepi-dar-ian).
It means someone who is in the habit of giving advice on matters he himself knows nothing about.
The best part of using this word is that because it contains "ultra", the person you are labelling it with will take it as a compliment. Two birds with one stone!
There's a word for those people
What to call a know-it-all
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- Senior Member
- Posts: 1027
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Re: There's a word for those people
The story goes that when the Greek painter Apellis displayed his beautiful painting of Alexander the Great, a shoemaker pointed out that the sandals in the painting did not have the required number of loops. The artist thanked him, and immediately set about making the required changes. Once they had been carried out, the emboldened shoemaker began to comment on other aspects of the painting — the shape of Alexander's legs, his robes, etc.
Apellis put an end to it by saying, “Sutor, ne ultra crepidam”, meaning “shoemaker, not above the sandal”. The wise painter was trying to tell the shoemaker that he should limit his comments to his area of expertise — shoes — and avoid passing judgment on things he knows nothing about.
Apellis put an end to it by saying, “Sutor, ne ultra crepidam”, meaning “shoemaker, not above the sandal”. The wise painter was trying to tell the shoemaker that he should limit his comments to his area of expertise — shoes — and avoid passing judgment on things he knows nothing about.