Here ar some ways people try to appear more intelligent than they really are in order to impress others, I would add incessant name dropping to the list and using unneccesarily long words, over-complicated sentences, management speak or trendy buzzwords constantly – They have a place to express things but using them constantly is a bit wearing
- Saying you prefer opera or classical music to pop music
- Saying you don’t like football
- Repeating someone else’s joke as your own
- Going to an art gallery and posting about it
- Listening to classical music in front of others
- Reading a ‘serious’ tome on the beach
- Re-tweeting a clever tweet
- Talking loudly about politics in front of others
- Reading an intellectual magazine on public transport
- Sharing an academic article on Facebook
- Pretending to know about wine
- Wearing glasses with clear lenses
- Mentioning an opera you’d seen
- Pretending to like jazz
- Tagging yourself at an exhibition
- Referencing a Booker Prizewinning novel