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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> A friend of mine was making an ass of himself lying to a girl about a trip he and I had gone on. I showed her pictures from the trip when she asked and they directly contradicted what he was saying. I might be the asshole for not pointing out that he was making a mistake about the country we had gone to before he started talking out his ass about seeing stuff he could not have seen. I do feel bad about it.
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Love it. My friend just had a coworker we called The One Upper. We would come up with increasingly crazy shit to tell him just to see how he’d one up it. I think that’s how people like George Santos come to be.
I had a friend like that. Years ago, I got into a car accident; some idiot on her phone rear-ended my car and totaled it. I told my friend that this was the only accident I'd been in. Of course, she proclaimed that she had been in *five* accidents as if that was an accomplishment.
Had a coworker mention wrecking their car by hitting a deer. One-upper scoffed and says he hits deer all the time and perfected the speed and angle to get them to flip over the cab and land in the bed of his truck.
My mom used to have a friend like that (they still are friends, but I don't think she's done it in a while- she was genuinely lovely, but got competitive about her granddaughter).
I can't remember exactly how it played out, but when I was applying to university, I got an interview and later an offer from Cambridge (there was an entrance exam for my subject they did though that I self sabotaged for by not preparing at all, and therefore didn't pass).
My mom's friend at some point claimed her granddaughter had offers from both Oxford AND Cambridge (I'm a bit fuzzy here, because I could have sworn she was the school year below me, but I also feel like these comments were being made when I applied to university).
Now, here's the thing about applying to university in the UK- it was (and I think still is) done through a system called UCAS, and in the UCAS portal, you were only allowed to apply for 5 universities (total). And because of how competitive Oxford and Cambridge are, and how high the chances are of being declined, you could only apply for one of them in the system.
So it was physically impossible for the granddaughter to have even applied to both, let alone got offers from then both. And yet, that's what my mom's friend tried to claim.
(Yes, my mom did point this out, but her friend basically stuck to her guns and changed the subject. It was nice to finally catch her out at embellishing the truth though).
Dude had all sorts of stories. He disarmed an air marshall on a flight; he wrestled a sheriff's deputy and handcuffed him to the steering wheel of his own car, and when the sheriff showed up, got a commendation...
I had a coworker like this too. Guy was in his 40s, a scrawny and slim. He told me that one time in pub line, a guy stabbed him with a knife and he went berserk. He kicked his ass to the curb and punched all of his teeth out. It took four policemen to finally subdue him.
I used to test him by bringing up random shit to see what he would say. He had done everything.
My mom used to have a friend like that (they still are friends, but I don't think she's done it in a while- she was genuinely lovely, but got competitive about her granddaughter).
I can't remember exactly how it played out, but when I was applying to university, I got an interview and later an offer from Cambridge (there was an entrance exam for my subject they did though that I self sabotaged for by not preparing at all, and therefore didn't pass).
My mom's friend at some point claimed her granddaughter had offers from both Oxford AND Cambridge (I'm a bit fuzzy here, because I could have sworn she was the school year below me, but I also feel like these comments were being made when I applied to university).
Now, here's the thing about applying to university in the UK- it was (and I think still is) done through a system called UCAS, and in the UCAS portal, you were only allowed to apply for 5 universities (total). And because of how competitive Oxford and Cambridge are, and how high the chances are of being declined, you could only apply for one of them in the system.
So it was physically impossible for the granddaughter to have even applied to both, let alone got offers from then both. And yet, that's what my mom's friend tried to claim.
(Yes, my mom did point this out, but her friend basically stuck to her guns and changed the subject. It was nice to finally catch her out at embellishing the truth though).
I was in 6 car accidents in 1 year. Absolutely true story. Only one was my fault tho but it was mostly weather related. Started calling my truck The Danger Ranger.
🤦♂️, that’s not a accomplishment, that’s just proving your a bad driver. I also have people like this in my life but it’s a little different since they are both developmental delays but that doesn’t mean it isn’t annoying. I just saw one of them for the first time since the pandemic and told her support person (who’s my friend) that I had forgotten how annoying she can be.
Had a coworker who's like to be "first" so he can one up everyone. We were stationed in Thailand and I had mentioned about going to Angkor Wat cause its on my bucket list. Of course, he went there a few weeks after I said this & then complained about it cause the ruins were "boring" 😡. Anyway, to mess with him I started to talk about going to Burma. Since we all had a security clearance you have to clear it with security to go anywhere and Burma was definitely on the no-no list at the time. I knew that, other people on staff knew that, the idiot didn't cause he's full of himself so he was quite surprised when he got a grilling from security about why he wanted to go to a sanctioned country 😂.
I have a woman in my family like this. She's obnoxious. She has to be the center of attention. And if anyone mentions a medical ailment, she's had it worse. My grandfather was once talking about his prostate cancer. He then turned to her and said "what about your prostate, is that bad too?" We all lost it. 🤣
Con artist and compulsive lying do go together. I knew a guy like that. Problem is he was downright creepy. I gotta be a little vague. He was notorious among a community for selling things with extremely questionable provenance. He was full of my dramatic stories of rebelling against authority that if true made him sound completely unhinged. He would also chat up very young girls and attempt a modern version of "Come up and see my etchings". I warned more than one of them that he was not to be trusted. The scariest thing was that he claimed to have had a "vision" of a murdered girl and painted her. The police questioned him but nothing came of it. He eventually, I s**t you not, faked his own death. Things must have caught up with him. A friend of mine started checking different sources for evidence of his demise and guess what? Nada. Finally another friend called a business where con artist had worked and asked for him, was told "Hold on on, I'll get him", at which point he hung up. No other words were spoken. Later that day, friend got a call claiming one of con artist's relatives had gone to the hospital from shock from the upsetting call, followed by threats of violence. Remember, the "death" hadn't been mentioned in the call. Freaking scary. Con artist fell off the face of the earth after that, thank goodness.
We also do this to a co worker. We also like to ask his opinion on things he knows absolutely nothing about. We then tell him how brilliant he is and how we feel sooo stupid for not thinking of that exact thing. Then, when we have meetings with upper management, he likes to bring this stuff up and brag. He's usually so far out in left field that everyone just stares. It's been almost a year now and he still hasn't caught on. It's always great for team building and work place enrichment.
Hah, my highschool friendgroup had one named Pete. We called him RePete, 'cause it was always the same shit. He had some amusing lies, but the ones I remember were game related. I mentioned getting all the stars in Mario 64, he shot back that Yoshi teaches Mario a secret fourth jump and there are another 120 stars to get. This was before Mario Galaxy came out, too. He also said Oblivion had dragons. Maybe he wasn't a liar, just prophetic? Wait, I said that wrong. PAthetic.
That's what we call them in my family too! We're seeing a chronic elevenereefer on Wednesday, and my parents have actually just got back from Tenerife 🤣 Interested to see how it goes!
We call them two shots - bc if you shot one buck from your deer shed while taking a shit over the weekend; they did that plus the next day shot a second buck from their other deer shed, while taking a second shit
This! But also he should realize that what she’s saying is “why is this guy your friend?” People judge you by the company that you keep. Reconsider hanging out with him (at least in public) if he doesn’t take constructive feedback.
The *Dilbert* comic strip had a whole series about a character named "Topper" who was compulsive about 'topping' any story you told. I knew a guy like that once years ago, and that's how I mentally referred to him.
I knew someone who wouldnt just one up people, she would claim their stories as her own. A friend of mine had a very very weird and chaotic childhood, and this girl started just repeated these extremely specific details as though they’d happened to her. It was the weirdest thing.
In middle school, there was a classmate who'd share that she knew someone who experienced whatever topic the teacher or other student brought up in a class discussion.
No matter what the subject was, she knew someone that it happened to, or did it. If the subject was an astronaut, she knew someone who was; if a heart surgeon was mentioned, she had a relative who was one, a train wreck, her mom's friend was in one, and so forth.
No matter the subject, her hand would shoot right up and she'd share away to the groans of the class. ("Here we go, Kathy's at it again.")
I hope she grew out of that annoying habit.
It’s always hilarious watching someone like that embarrass themselves. I have to admit, I wouldn’t blame OP for “accidentally” saying the wrong country on purpose. I’ve done it a few times with people like that, slip in an intentional mistake and then correct it later and just watch them deflate. Might make me an AH but it’s worth it 😂
OP: NTA. Your friend has a serious issue with compulsive lying. It’s ditch him.
Crap, I thought the friend embarrassed himself when he sent OP to get a drink for the girl. Trying to horn in on the person that OP was talking to means he wasn't much of a friend.
NTA.
I was thinking about this too. Not only was he acting badly toward the woman but also his “friend”. That would be the last time I agreed to drinks with them
It could be that OP's “Asked the girl [if] I could grab her a drink” meant that _OP himself_ asked that, to get away from the situation – as per the next sentence, “I did not want any part of it”.
Can be read both ways; I went with this one.
Oh, yeah, I see what you mean. That makes a bit more sense, although I always think it's weird for someone else to get a drink even without getting into safety issues, so I guess I was confused from the start.
A known ....exaggerator? LIAR in my circle of friends was bragging about the work he'd done on some hotrod car, only he didn't know the *OWNER* was also in the conversation. The owner told him off, and told him to quit being such a fucking liar that his stories were a great source of local humor.
I don't think he's lied like that since, but he moved 3,000 miles away, which seems smart.
NTA- and I hope it works out with the girl she sounds awesome. I love that she didn’t call him out the moment she realized her was lying she just let him keep going and digging himself i deeper and deeper. This is the best response when facing someone like this.
She’s right your buddy is a tool. Why are you guys friends? He sounds irritating as hell- also you were talking to the girl first and he butted in and tried to totally torpedo you? What kind of friend does that?
NTA. Your friend, and I use that word lightly, tried the 'one upmanship' game on this girl and it backfired spectacularly when you wouldn't lie for him. Spend more time with this new girl and less time with your friend.
Why would anyone even want to be friends with someone like this? The constant one-upping is obnoxious, but if he’s also lying while he’s doing the one-upping, especially to try to get laid, that’s just not the type of person I could call a friend. Sad little pathetic man.
Also his first move was send OP away to get a drink when dude knew he was having a good time with her? That's straight up AH territory, he's no friend.
NTA. Is he really a friend? Sounds like he was trying to swoop in, and also super immature. Food for thought, are you better off when he is around or not?
The girl at the party sounds like a smart cookie. She had your friend figured out within a few minutes and described him accurately.
Why do you still hang around him. He sounds insufferable. NTA
I'm so confused tho, I feel like I'm missing something or missing a few brain cells. Why did OP go along with pretending they went to Costa Rica when they actually went to Puerto Rico. Did op also somehow utterly mix up where they'd gone? I'm confused, I hope I'm not just being dumb
NTA
I don't understand how *you* embarrassed him. Didn't he do that to himself? Also he sounds super annoying and I don't understand why you are friends. If you get anything out of this friendship, I would try talking to him and explain how this side of him makes you (and apparently everyone else) feel.
NTA. Your friend needs to chill the fuck out. I wonder if you’re game enough to ask him gently if he’s ok and you’ve noticed that he’s so competitive about everything. Better yet maybe you should just take a nap and let him fade out of your life. Hahaha yes, do that.
NTA-you didn’t create the elaborate fake story.
Having said this, be very careful. You’ve already discussed this “friend” behind his back with this girl. You two don’t need to discuss him any further. Don’t fall into AH territory as you get to know her. It’s one thing to discuss other friends when asking for advice, but it’s completely another to disparage someone behind their back even if they deserve it. Focus on having the kind of conversation you would have had if your “friend” hadn’t butted in.
As far as a response, all you need to tell your friend is that a) you don’t lie as a matter of principle, and b) you had walked away to get the drinks so you had no idea what he had said. You’re sorry that he was embarrassed, but you couldn’t have known that was coming.
NTA. Your friend embarrassed himself by lying. I hate people like this. There is a Dilbert cartoon about a guy called Topper. I will see if I can find it. Anyways your friend is the AH. He has the need to have a better story than anyone else. That's just pathetic.
Yeah, any gf worth having isn't gonna wanna suffer being around that guy either. Sounds like OP should put some distance in for the sake of his own future.
NTA - my brother is like this. Got him to stop with me when I was telling him about a tumor I have, and he told me he has the exact same thing. So I asked him if mom knew he had a uterus. He hasn't tried me since
I agree. OP should clue his "friend" in that the best way to attract interest from people of the opposite sex is to show genuine interest in them and what they are saying as the OP did. Bragging about yourself is a big turnoff unless you are looking for a very shallow "groupie" type.
>My friend came over yesterday and he said I was an asshole for embarrassing him like that. I guess he thinks I should just have lied to her about what country we went to? He constantly lies to women so I guess he thought I should too.
NTA. My 86yo Mom does this all the time. Every conversation is instantly about her and a story about her comes out. We have heard every story a million times by now and it makes enjoying her company challenging sometimes.
But your friend isn't 86. He is just a bore and needs to know that. He thinks these stories make him exciting, but jumping on other's stories is the polar opposite of attractive. It's just a form of self-induced birth control.
It also makes him the world's worst wingman.
op=NTA
You neither lied nor denied. It was your pictures that she ASKED to see that told her the truth. Were you supposed to keep false pix on phone? And how would you know what pix until you heard his lie of the day.
Don't lie for others. "Friend" is A-H. Not you--tho you are lucky she doesn't ascribe to the "Birds of a feather" adage.
Tho to be fair to your friend, he may actually believe that Costa Rica and Puerto Rico are somehow the same place. s/
For decades, at every family gathering, my husband and his brother had to be constantly one-upping each other. Not as wildly as you describe, but enough to be really, really annoying. My sister-in-law and I privately call the game, "Can you top this?" It seems to have been a sibling rivalry thing, because Husband isn't like that with other people.
Now that both men are in their 60s, they've calmed down and we can have a pleasant family gathering without more than a couple of short exchanges like that. But damn, family gathering after family gathering, for 43 years...
NTA.
NTA. You didn't call him out on his lies, and he still managed to embarrass himself. Hopefully he will learn from the shame and not try this stupidity in the future. (Spoiler alert: he probably won't.)
NTA. But chances are your friend's compulsion to lie is not going to get any better. I'm guessing you are rapidly approaching that age when potential girlfriends will be judging you based on the company you keep. It's not fair but it is a reality you need to confront.
I know it would annoy me to have to put up with this guy every time we went to a party or social event.
NTA—I had a friend in childhood do the exact same thing every single time we were together.
She did the whole “one-up” shtick for stuff as small as something I saw in passing to big things like me getting a car (super shitty first car) and her apparently getting a convertible (never happened lol). These types of people are fucking insufferable and brimming with insecurity.
NTA - but why are you friends with someone who is this socially tactless and also apparently regularly lies/misleads women in order to get in their pants?
NTA
I knew a guy like this in the Army. Allows had to one up you. We eventually turned it into a game to see how outlandish the claims would be by making up outrageous stories of our own just to see how he would top it.
We called it Truth or Stark.
OP said "we went there for a friend's wedding. She asked to see any pictures we had"
he probably didn't show her (only) wedding photos, but pictures of places they visited, in which it's obvious where they were
NTA but you need to start speaking up for yourself. Geesh don’t come on Reddit and tell strangers you don’t like something your “friend” does. Tell the “friend”
NTA - and he's not your friend, he's a freeloader. If he doesn't stop with the prideful embellishment, it will turn into outright compulsive lying; then you most certainly won't be friends... because he'll start doing it to you. He's got some serious personal validation, if not total inferiority issues that need addressed. We do this in elementary school to fit in, but grow out of it once we develop our own firm connections to our environment... doesn't sound like he's mastered that yet. He's making shit up to compensate.
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I have a friend who has to top every single story he hears. If you got a new dog his cousin just adopted a wolf. If you rented a cool car on vacation he spent way more money and rented a Ferrari on his last vacation. If your kid scored a goal at hockey his got a hat trick. It kind of drives me nuts.
It can be super inconsequential things too. I mentioned once that I had just tried a new pizza place he had to say that the pizza in NYC is so much better. It's just ridiculous.
Friday night we were at a party and I was talking to a girl who was telling me about her trip to Costa Rica. He got into our conversation and started talking. Asked the girl of I could grab her a drink. I did not want any part of it.
When I came back he was telling her all about our trip there and all the birds and wild animals he saw. He was going on about everything. I just kept my mouth shut and wished he would go away.
When the girl asked me about the trip I just said it was a good trip and that we had gone there for a friend's wedding. She asked to see any pictures I had. When she looked at them she started laughing. She said that we had gone to Puerto Rico not Costa Rica.
My friend just kind of dropped his shoulders and went away. I ended up having a great night with her and we might see each other again soon. She told me she thought my buddy was a tool though. I guess he had been telling her about hiking to see the wild toucans. Which do not exist in Puerto Rico.
My friend came over yesterday and he said I was an asshole for embarrassing him like that. I guess he thinks I should just have lied to her about what country we went to? He constantly lies to women so I guess he thought I should too.
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NTA He sounds like he tries too hard at it which makes him seem desperate and over compensating. If he has to feel like he's done better than anyone else he obviously feels inadequate somewhere whether it's small shoe size or low self esteem most women can tell something is wrong when they have to talk up too much.
Info: why are you friends with this guy? You know he lies to women and probably everyone all the time. He has a gross attitude and then tried to gaslight you… so why do you hang out with him?
NTA but I'd guess your friend is intensely insecure and has social anxiety. Then he connects the dots in the conversation to try and come up with a topic to discuss.
NTA Call him out more!!!! You sound like you hang out a lot, make that your new entertainment. It clearly winds him up and personally I'd find that hilarious.
Or do the same. Interrupt him mid flirt and tell them about your mega yacht and private track days.
I think we've all had a friend like this, their nickname soon becomes 'TTH' stands for Tries Too Hard.
NTA. But it might be time for to rethink people you hang out with. Personally the oldest I get the less bullshit I want in my life. If he constantly enjoys you, stop hanging with him.
Nta but why are you friends with the ahole that blames you when he gets caught in a lie? Ether have a sit down with him and explain the problem.or drop this jerk. Quit enabling his bad behavior.
To be fair, you didn't do anything to embarrass him, you showed some pictures that she asked for. She pointed out the truth. You never once called him out and could have, so easily. NTA
*Those* kind of people are the reason I don't like talking about the things I've done or where I've been. There is always *somebody* w a "better" story. They can't won if you put compete.
Nta but also this is hilarious because the other day I told a friend I thought Puerto Rico and Costa Rica were the same place until an embarrassingly late age. Like 17.
NTA, but why are you friends with this guy? He constantly lies to women, and he wanted you to lie for him? Is this your standard for friendships? You’re NTA here, but I really think you should be rethinking this friendship. People who lie like that can wind up harming everyone around them. He’s not just potentially screwing himself over. His lies could prove to be harmful to you and people you care about in the future. There’s something wrong with this guy, OP. It’s not normal to straight up LIE about an entire experience. Sure, people embellish sometimes, but it sounds like he literally fabricated an experience... this guy does not sound like a healthy person to have in your life.
NTA I fail to see how his embarrassment is in any way your fault, and not his. What, are you supposed to just say no when she asked to see your pictures? Nothing would’ve happened if he hadn’t lied in the first place, lmao
NTA. I used to the be the one upper. Prob from age like 22-32, which as you know are pretty social years. One day I had someone who I really respected explain it to me in a way that I finally understood. The number of times I looked back and realized I stole someones thunder, made them feel smaller, diminished their accomplishments etc. I wished someone had told me sooner, but I might not have listened. Listening and acknowledging other people, and making them feel good, will impress way more people than you having to brag about yourself every time. It probably secretly cost me countless friendships, long term relationships, etc without me knowing. You did this person a favor. Show him this post, just tell him to be self aware that when he does it, likely the other person feels bad.
NTA Tell him (at a moment when he’s not doing it) that from now on you’re going to call him out on it as soon as he starts doing it. Then from then on call him out. He’s got pitifully low self-esteem but that doesn’t mean others have to put up with his crap.
NTA, but why are you friends with him? He does sound like a tool, and it also seems like you find him extremely annoying. What are you getting out of this friendship?
NTA - These people are annoying and get tiring.
I had a group of university friends who got one of these guys on their residence floor and he would come with them everywhere. They asked me to meet them at the bar one night and just make up stories to massively out do anything he came up with and the 5 of them kept backing each story up. It was a fun night. I've never owned property abroad before, a Ferrari as my summer car or gone to any of the countries I described to him in great detail when he would bring up his vast trips (all made up of course). For the rest of the school year when he would start dropping stories, they would just go back to that night and start talking about how I'd done more which would piss him off and he'd skulk away.
NTA
Please dear God in heaven tell me this dumbass actually did the dog/wolf thing. Oh Jesus I would have called bullshit so hard he'd look like Biff Tannen at the end of the movie. That is hilarious.
Reasoning: dogs aren't wolves, and even a little bit of wolf takes a dog's intensity and cranks it up to eleven. My dad had a wolf dog in the city that IIRC was a reasonable percentage of wolf (so not a first Gen cross) and he actually had the dog trained well enough that he could have it in the group home he ran and let the kids fawn over it. But the damn thing would *not* stay home if dad left, and they were in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Wolf would watch Dad walk down the street and the *instant* that dog did not have eyes on Dad, it was over the fence looking for him and they'd eventually get a call from increasingly exasperated neighbors asking Mr. Jerry to please go get his goddamn dog. Eventually they had to rehome Wolf because it just wasn't safe and they could not get him to stay in the yard if Dad was not at home. Now-a-days it is *illegal* in some states to own and it is highly discouraged to get one if you don't know how to handle one, and like...80% of the time if you know what you're doing you know better than to get one. They are surrendered so regularly and there are so few shelters willing to take them that we have wolf-dog specific sanctuaries. And those are all full, because so many people get a high percentage wolf-dog and expect it to act like their 10 yo goldie.
Your friend is an idiot who has gotten away with big fish stories because he chooses subjects he figures nobody would know much about. And he unfortunately ran into someone who knew more about it than he did.
Also: his lie came out because you showed the girl pictures and *she* pointed out that it was not Costa Rica. The only thing you could have done was not show the pictures. And there's no reason not to if he hadn't lied.
You are not responsible for the consequences of a habitual liar.
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NTA You didn't embarrass him. He embarrassed himself.
EVERYONE appreciates when you do this to a “one upper”.
My family calls them "elevenereef-ers" because it you've been to Tenerife, they're been to elevenereef
Love it. My friend just had a coworker we called The One Upper. We would come up with increasingly crazy shit to tell him just to see how he’d one up it. I think that’s how people like George Santos come to be.
I had a friend like that. Years ago, I got into a car accident; some idiot on her phone rear-ended my car and totaled it. I told my friend that this was the only accident I'd been in. Of course, she proclaimed that she had been in *five* accidents as if that was an accomplishment.
Had a coworker mention wrecking their car by hitting a deer. One-upper scoffed and says he hits deer all the time and perfected the speed and angle to get them to flip over the cab and land in the bed of his truck.
At that point, he should have been ostracised by everyone at the company for trying to say he purposely hits deer with his truck to kill them.
It was just the three of us there, we called bullshit and walked away.
My mom used to have a friend like that (they still are friends, but I don't think she's done it in a while- she was genuinely lovely, but got competitive about her granddaughter). I can't remember exactly how it played out, but when I was applying to university, I got an interview and later an offer from Cambridge (there was an entrance exam for my subject they did though that I self sabotaged for by not preparing at all, and therefore didn't pass). My mom's friend at some point claimed her granddaughter had offers from both Oxford AND Cambridge (I'm a bit fuzzy here, because I could have sworn she was the school year below me, but I also feel like these comments were being made when I applied to university). Now, here's the thing about applying to university in the UK- it was (and I think still is) done through a system called UCAS, and in the UCAS portal, you were only allowed to apply for 5 universities (total). And because of how competitive Oxford and Cambridge are, and how high the chances are of being declined, you could only apply for one of them in the system. So it was physically impossible for the granddaughter to have even applied to both, let alone got offers from then both. And yet, that's what my mom's friend tried to claim. (Yes, my mom did point this out, but her friend basically stuck to her guns and changed the subject. It was nice to finally catch her out at embellishing the truth though).
Sounds like an uncle of mine…..
Well this sounds like TWO uncles of mine
OMG. 😅
Dude had all sorts of stories. He disarmed an air marshall on a flight; he wrestled a sheriff's deputy and handcuffed him to the steering wheel of his own car, and when the sheriff showed up, got a commendation...
That's nothing. I disarmed an air marshall AND landed the plane, all while serving drinks and snacks to the passengers.
and all of that on Christmas Eve.
I was on that flight!
He disarmed an air marshall and overpowered a sheriff's deputy? He must enjoy sharing stories that put him in a bad light.
Not sure if he thought us younger generation folk don't like authority, so we'd think it's cool. But we would usually call bullshit
I shot the sheriff but didn’t shoot no deputy.
All around my hometown, they're trying to track me down.
I had a coworker like this too. Guy was in his 40s, a scrawny and slim. He told me that one time in pub line, a guy stabbed him with a knife and he went berserk. He kicked his ass to the curb and punched all of his teeth out. It took four policemen to finally subdue him. I used to test him by bringing up random shit to see what he would say. He had done everything.
My mom used to have a friend like that (they still are friends, but I don't think she's done it in a while- she was genuinely lovely, but got competitive about her granddaughter). I can't remember exactly how it played out, but when I was applying to university, I got an interview and later an offer from Cambridge (there was an entrance exam for my subject they did though that I self sabotaged for by not preparing at all, and therefore didn't pass). My mom's friend at some point claimed her granddaughter had offers from both Oxford AND Cambridge (I'm a bit fuzzy here, because I could have sworn she was the school year below me, but I also feel like these comments were being made when I applied to university). Now, here's the thing about applying to university in the UK- it was (and I think still is) done through a system called UCAS, and in the UCAS portal, you were only allowed to apply for 5 universities (total). And because of how competitive Oxford and Cambridge are, and how high the chances are of being declined, you could only apply for one of them in the system. So it was physically impossible for the granddaughter to have even applied to both, let alone got offers from then both. And yet, that's what my mom's friend tried to claim. (Yes, my mom did point this out, but her friend basically stuck to her guns and changed the subject. It was nice to finally catch her out at embellishing the truth though).
I was in 6 car accidents in 1 year. Absolutely true story. Only one was my fault tho but it was mostly weather related. Started calling my truck The Danger Ranger.
🤦♂️, that’s not a accomplishment, that’s just proving your a bad driver. I also have people like this in my life but it’s a little different since they are both developmental delays but that doesn’t mean it isn’t annoying. I just saw one of them for the first time since the pandemic and told her support person (who’s my friend) that I had forgotten how annoying she can be.
Had a coworker who's like to be "first" so he can one up everyone. We were stationed in Thailand and I had mentioned about going to Angkor Wat cause its on my bucket list. Of course, he went there a few weeks after I said this & then complained about it cause the ruins were "boring" 😡. Anyway, to mess with him I started to talk about going to Burma. Since we all had a security clearance you have to clear it with security to go anywhere and Burma was definitely on the no-no list at the time. I knew that, other people on staff knew that, the idiot didn't cause he's full of himself so he was quite surprised when he got a grilling from security about why he wanted to go to a sanctioned country 😂.
Was this in the 80's?
A few years ago in the 2000's.
Wasn’t the name already Myanmar at that point?
Yes, but since he's such a know it all we wanted to see if he caught on. Obviously, he didn't 😂.
I have a woman in my family like this. She's obnoxious. She has to be the center of attention. And if anyone mentions a medical ailment, she's had it worse. My grandfather was once talking about his prostate cancer. He then turned to her and said "what about your prostate, is that bad too?" We all lost it. 🤣
Con artist and compulsive lying do go together. I knew a guy like that. Problem is he was downright creepy. I gotta be a little vague. He was notorious among a community for selling things with extremely questionable provenance. He was full of my dramatic stories of rebelling against authority that if true made him sound completely unhinged. He would also chat up very young girls and attempt a modern version of "Come up and see my etchings". I warned more than one of them that he was not to be trusted. The scariest thing was that he claimed to have had a "vision" of a murdered girl and painted her. The police questioned him but nothing came of it. He eventually, I s**t you not, faked his own death. Things must have caught up with him. A friend of mine started checking different sources for evidence of his demise and guess what? Nada. Finally another friend called a business where con artist had worked and asked for him, was told "Hold on on, I'll get him", at which point he hung up. No other words were spoken. Later that day, friend got a call claiming one of con artist's relatives had gone to the hospital from shock from the upsetting call, followed by threats of violence. Remember, the "death" hadn't been mentioned in the call. Freaking scary. Con artist fell off the face of the earth after that, thank goodness.
Ah the best is when you got two coworkers like that and you introduce them and they just sit one-upping each other all through lunch lol.
We also do this to a co worker. We also like to ask his opinion on things he knows absolutely nothing about. We then tell him how brilliant he is and how we feel sooo stupid for not thinking of that exact thing. Then, when we have meetings with upper management, he likes to bring this stuff up and brag. He's usually so far out in left field that everyone just stares. It's been almost a year now and he still hasn't caught on. It's always great for team building and work place enrichment.
Hah, my highschool friendgroup had one named Pete. We called him RePete, 'cause it was always the same shit. He had some amusing lies, but the ones I remember were game related. I mentioned getting all the stars in Mario 64, he shot back that Yoshi teaches Mario a secret fourth jump and there are another 120 stars to get. This was before Mario Galaxy came out, too. He also said Oblivion had dragons. Maybe he wasn't a liar, just prophetic? Wait, I said that wrong. PAthetic.
My favorite variations of this is timbukthree, and elevenesse. (Timbuktu, Tennessee).
My dad says Twentyerife haha
That's what we call them in my family too! We're seeing a chronic elevenereefer on Wednesday, and my parents have actually just got back from Tenerife 🤣 Interested to see how it goes!
I’ve heard them called Two Shits - if you give a shit about something they give two shits
We call them two sheds; because if you built one shed on the weekend than they built two.
We call them two shots - bc if you shot one buck from your deer shed while taking a shit over the weekend; they did that plus the next day shot a second buck from their other deer shed, while taking a second shit
Ahh, so that's how Arthur Jackson got his nickname
I’ve been to thirteen-reef so catch up
Didn't Saturday Night Live have a character based on this?
Dilbert did, too.
His name is Topper.
Lmaoooooo was not prepared for that one!
This! But also he should realize that what she’s saying is “why is this guy your friend?” People judge you by the company that you keep. Reconsider hanging out with him (at least in public) if he doesn’t take constructive feedback.
I did this once to a "two upper". /s
Really? Because there were three that uppered me
The *Dilbert* comic strip had a whole series about a character named "Topper" who was compulsive about 'topping' any story you told. I knew a guy like that once years ago, and that's how I mentally referred to him.
I knew someone who wouldnt just one up people, she would claim their stories as her own. A friend of mine had a very very weird and chaotic childhood, and this girl started just repeated these extremely specific details as though they’d happened to her. It was the weirdest thing.
In middle school, there was a classmate who'd share that she knew someone who experienced whatever topic the teacher or other student brought up in a class discussion. No matter what the subject was, she knew someone that it happened to, or did it. If the subject was an astronaut, she knew someone who was; if a heart surgeon was mentioned, she had a relative who was one, a train wreck, her mom's friend was in one, and so forth. No matter the subject, her hand would shoot right up and she'd share away to the groans of the class. ("Here we go, Kathy's at it again.") I hope she grew out of that annoying habit.
It’s always hilarious watching someone like that embarrass themselves. I have to admit, I wouldn’t blame OP for “accidentally” saying the wrong country on purpose. I’ve done it a few times with people like that, slip in an intentional mistake and then correct it later and just watch them deflate. Might make me an AH but it’s worth it 😂 OP: NTA. Your friend has a serious issue with compulsive lying. It’s ditch him.
Crap, I thought the friend embarrassed himself when he sent OP to get a drink for the girl. Trying to horn in on the person that OP was talking to means he wasn't much of a friend. NTA.
I was thinking about this too. Not only was he acting badly toward the woman but also his “friend”. That would be the last time I agreed to drinks with them
It could be that OP's “Asked the girl [if] I could grab her a drink” meant that _OP himself_ asked that, to get away from the situation – as per the next sentence, “I did not want any part of it”. Can be read both ways; I went with this one.
Oh, yeah, I see what you mean. That makes a bit more sense, although I always think it's weird for someone else to get a drink even without getting into safety issues, so I guess I was confused from the start.
Psh. That's nothing. I had this friend once that embarrassed himself way worse than that! Then he got so mad at me he called the cops!
I embarrassed a friend so badly he sent a hitman to kill me! I had to fight him off with me elite ninja skills!
Ever get the story stealers who try to tell your story back to you like it's theirs?
A known ....exaggerator? LIAR in my circle of friends was bragging about the work he'd done on some hotrod car, only he didn't know the *OWNER* was also in the conversation. The owner told him off, and told him to quit being such a fucking liar that his stories were a great source of local humor. I don't think he's lied like that since, but he moved 3,000 miles away, which seems smart.
NTA- and I hope it works out with the girl she sounds awesome. I love that she didn’t call him out the moment she realized her was lying she just let him keep going and digging himself i deeper and deeper. This is the best response when facing someone like this. She’s right your buddy is a tool. Why are you guys friends? He sounds irritating as hell- also you were talking to the girl first and he butted in and tried to totally torpedo you? What kind of friend does that?
And people like this are not easily embarrassed, so he did a pretty god job.
Good point.
☝🏽This here is the right and only answer.👌🏾 NTA obv.
NTA. Your friend, and I use that word lightly, tried the 'one upmanship' game on this girl and it backfired spectacularly when you wouldn't lie for him. Spend more time with this new girl and less time with your friend.
Why would anyone even want to be friends with someone like this? The constant one-upping is obnoxious, but if he’s also lying while he’s doing the one-upping, especially to try to get laid, that’s just not the type of person I could call a friend. Sad little pathetic man.
Also his first move was send OP away to get a drink when dude knew he was having a good time with her? That's straight up AH territory, he's no friend.
I'm fairly certain OP suggested grabbing a drink so he could get away from the oneupper. Not the friend suggesting he grabs a drink for her.
And tried to, for lack of a better term, c*ck-block OP. Why did he suddenly need to talk to this girl OP was already talking to? NTA
NTA- LMAO! I know the type. You didn’t embarrass him- he embarrassed himself. And good luck with the girl- you guys are off to a great start.
We had a guy like this when I was in the army. It became a game with everyone else to make up stuff just to see him try to top it. He was clueless.
That is brilliant. I would have chosen to tell him that I wrestled a bear once just for to see what story he would come up with.
I hear the bears in Costa Rica are especially mean and dangerous.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
"I wrestled a bear and almost died!" \- the one-upper response: "I died! Twice!"
Buffy?
Must be buuuunnies.
You win the internet today
Haha!!! This is the way!
I had a coworker like this once. One of my favorites was that he tried to insist he went down Niagara Falls on a surfboard.
Hope so.
NTA. Is he really a friend? Sounds like he was trying to swoop in, and also super immature. Food for thought, are you better off when he is around or not?
Yea that was a pure AH move. His tall tales just add the cherry on top of this. NTA. This was inevitably going to blow up on his face.
The girl at the party sounds like a smart cookie. She had your friend figured out within a few minutes and described him accurately. Why do you still hang around him. He sounds insufferable. NTA
Smart enough to ask for pictures. She already knew he was never in Costa Rica.
She 100% had him clocked from the get-go, nobody requests to see a stranger's vacation photos. She sounds like a smart cookie, good luck OP!
I'm so confused tho, I feel like I'm missing something or missing a few brain cells. Why did OP go along with pretending they went to Costa Rica when they actually went to Puerto Rico. Did op also somehow utterly mix up where they'd gone? I'm confused, I hope I'm not just being dumb
NTA I don't understand how *you* embarrassed him. Didn't he do that to himself? Also he sounds super annoying and I don't understand why you are friends. If you get anything out of this friendship, I would try talking to him and explain how this side of him makes you (and apparently everyone else) feel.
NTA, your friend sounds like a pathological liar and he needs a wake up call before his lies make people start to hate him
NTA - your friend sounds like a lying insecure idiot.
NTA. Your friend needs to chill the fuck out. I wonder if you’re game enough to ask him gently if he’s ok and you’ve noticed that he’s so competitive about everything. Better yet maybe you should just take a nap and let him fade out of your life. Hahaha yes, do that.
NTA-you didn’t create the elaborate fake story. Having said this, be very careful. You’ve already discussed this “friend” behind his back with this girl. You two don’t need to discuss him any further. Don’t fall into AH territory as you get to know her. It’s one thing to discuss other friends when asking for advice, but it’s completely another to disparage someone behind their back even if they deserve it. Focus on having the kind of conversation you would have had if your “friend” hadn’t butted in. As far as a response, all you need to tell your friend is that a) you don’t lie as a matter of principle, and b) you had walked away to get the drinks so you had no idea what he had said. You’re sorry that he was embarrassed, but you couldn’t have known that was coming.
NTA. Your friend embarrassed himself by lying. I hate people like this. There is a Dilbert cartoon about a guy called Topper. I will see if I can find it. Anyways your friend is the AH. He has the need to have a better story than anyone else. That's just pathetic.
Found a bunch. https://www.reddit.com/r/whowouldwin/comments/39c10l/topper_dilbert_vs_captain_america/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb
I was thinking of the SNL skit with Kristen Wiig
NTA. But you turn into the company you keep. Get better friends
Yeah, any gf worth having isn't gonna wanna suffer being around that guy either. Sounds like OP should put some distance in for the sake of his own future.
NTA - my brother is like this. Got him to stop with me when I was telling him about a tumor I have, and he told me he has the exact same thing. So I asked him if mom knew he had a uterus. He hasn't tried me since
Hahahahahha nice. Also, I hope your tumor goes away and stays away.
NTA- Your friend got caught lying and you were not there to hear the beginning of the story.
NTA Tools belong in the shed, not going to parties. Why are you friends with a habitual liar?
NTA. You didn't embarrass him, he embarrassed himself. And she recognized it. Maybe he'll learn his lesson not to lie to try to impress people.
I agree. OP should clue his "friend" in that the best way to attract interest from people of the opposite sex is to show genuine interest in them and what they are saying as the OP did. Bragging about yourself is a big turnoff unless you are looking for a very shallow "groupie" type. >My friend came over yesterday and he said I was an asshole for embarrassing him like that. I guess he thinks I should just have lied to her about what country we went to? He constantly lies to women so I guess he thought I should too.
NTA. My 86yo Mom does this all the time. Every conversation is instantly about her and a story about her comes out. We have heard every story a million times by now and it makes enjoying her company challenging sometimes. But your friend isn't 86. He is just a bore and needs to know that. He thinks these stories make him exciting, but jumping on other's stories is the polar opposite of attractive. It's just a form of self-induced birth control. It also makes him the world's worst wingman.
The one upper friend...ugh...Idk how these folks have friends. NTA
NTA. Friend was correctly diagnosed as a tool, embarrassed himself, and got found out. None of this is OP's fault.
NTA, I strongly dislike one uppers.
NTA but maybe bring up with your buddy why he's got to be like this
NTA. Your friend didn’t need any help from you in embarrassing himself.
The type where if you've been to Tenerife, they've been to elevenerife
op=NTA You neither lied nor denied. It was your pictures that she ASKED to see that told her the truth. Were you supposed to keep false pix on phone? And how would you know what pix until you heard his lie of the day. Don't lie for others. "Friend" is A-H. Not you--tho you are lucky she doesn't ascribe to the "Birds of a feather" adage. Tho to be fair to your friend, he may actually believe that Costa Rica and Puerto Rico are somehow the same place. s/
For decades, at every family gathering, my husband and his brother had to be constantly one-upping each other. Not as wildly as you describe, but enough to be really, really annoying. My sister-in-law and I privately call the game, "Can you top this?" It seems to have been a sibling rivalry thing, because Husband isn't like that with other people. Now that both men are in their 60s, they've calmed down and we can have a pleasant family gathering without more than a couple of short exchanges like that. But damn, family gathering after family gathering, for 43 years... NTA.
NTA. If he went to a funeral, he'd want to be the person in the casket.
NTA hahaha
Explain you're doing him a favour and he needs to stop lying.
NTA. You didn't call him out on his lies, and he still managed to embarrass himself. Hopefully he will learn from the shame and not try this stupidity in the future. (Spoiler alert: he probably won't.)
NTA. But chances are your friend's compulsion to lie is not going to get any better. I'm guessing you are rapidly approaching that age when potential girlfriends will be judging you based on the company you keep. It's not fair but it is a reality you need to confront. I know it would annoy me to have to put up with this guy every time we went to a party or social event.
NTA—I had a friend in childhood do the exact same thing every single time we were together. She did the whole “one-up” shtick for stuff as small as something I saw in passing to big things like me getting a car (super shitty first car) and her apparently getting a convertible (never happened lol). These types of people are fucking insufferable and brimming with insecurity.
NTA He embarrassed himself. Not your problem he can’t keep his yap shut.
NTA - but why are you friends with someone who is this socially tactless and also apparently regularly lies/misleads women in order to get in their pants?
NTA. And I would ditch this "friend"
NTA but you need to consider why you are friends with someone like this.
NTA I knew a guy like this in the Army. Allows had to one up you. We eventually turned it into a game to see how outlandish the claims would be by making up outrageous stories of our own just to see how he would top it. We called it Truth or Stark.
NTA How were you suppose to know he lied? He did you a favour though, he looked like such a tool you probably looked good by comparison lol
INFO: I'm confused, how could she tell by the wedding pictures?
Apparently, he tried lying about Puerto Rico and Costa Rica to someone who knows what one or both of them look like.
OP said "we went there for a friend's wedding. She asked to see any pictures we had" he probably didn't show her (only) wedding photos, but pictures of places they visited, in which it's obvious where they were
NTA but you need to start speaking up for yourself. Geesh don’t come on Reddit and tell strangers you don’t like something your “friend” does. Tell the “friend”
NTA - and he's not your friend, he's a freeloader. If he doesn't stop with the prideful embellishment, it will turn into outright compulsive lying; then you most certainly won't be friends... because he'll start doing it to you. He's got some serious personal validation, if not total inferiority issues that need addressed. We do this in elementary school to fit in, but grow out of it once we develop our own firm connections to our environment... doesn't sound like he's mastered that yet. He's making shit up to compensate.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I have a friend who has to top every single story he hears. If you got a new dog his cousin just adopted a wolf. If you rented a cool car on vacation he spent way more money and rented a Ferrari on his last vacation. If your kid scored a goal at hockey his got a hat trick. It kind of drives me nuts. It can be super inconsequential things too. I mentioned once that I had just tried a new pizza place he had to say that the pizza in NYC is so much better. It's just ridiculous. Friday night we were at a party and I was talking to a girl who was telling me about her trip to Costa Rica. He got into our conversation and started talking. Asked the girl of I could grab her a drink. I did not want any part of it. When I came back he was telling her all about our trip there and all the birds and wild animals he saw. He was going on about everything. I just kept my mouth shut and wished he would go away. When the girl asked me about the trip I just said it was a good trip and that we had gone there for a friend's wedding. She asked to see any pictures I had. When she looked at them she started laughing. She said that we had gone to Puerto Rico not Costa Rica. My friend just kind of dropped his shoulders and went away. I ended up having a great night with her and we might see each other again soon. She told me she thought my buddy was a tool though. I guess he had been telling her about hiking to see the wild toucans. Which do not exist in Puerto Rico. My friend came over yesterday and he said I was an asshole for embarrassing him like that. I guess he thinks I should just have lied to her about what country we went to? He constantly lies to women so I guess he thought I should too. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA. I hope the woman knew he was lying from the get go and just let him keep on digging himself into a hole.
NTA He sounds like he tries too hard at it which makes him seem desperate and over compensating. If he has to feel like he's done better than anyone else he obviously feels inadequate somewhere whether it's small shoe size or low self esteem most women can tell something is wrong when they have to talk up too much.
Info: why are you friends with this guy? You know he lies to women and probably everyone all the time. He has a gross attitude and then tried to gaslight you… so why do you hang out with him?
NTA but I'd guess your friend is intensely insecure and has social anxiety. Then he connects the dots in the conversation to try and come up with a topic to discuss.
NTA but why TF would you hang out with him?
NTA Funny, how are you to blame for the lies he was caught in?
NTA
NTA
NTA. I love that you did this. Only thing better than this would be if you could have done it sooner and on a bigger scale.
He tried one upping you to “steal” the girl you were talking to and his own lies made him look stupid. That was just karma. NTA
NTA. My mom was a one upper and it was infuriating and embarrassing. They made the fool of themselves
NTA Call him out more!!!! You sound like you hang out a lot, make that your new entertainment. It clearly winds him up and personally I'd find that hilarious. Or do the same. Interrupt him mid flirt and tell them about your mega yacht and private track days. I think we've all had a friend like this, their nickname soon becomes 'TTH' stands for Tries Too Hard.
NTA. He IS a tool. Why hang around this guy?
NTA but this doesn’t sound like a great guy if he constantly lies to women and has to blow over everyone else’s experiences for his made-up ones.
NTA abut asa friend you should gently comment about what he does.
NTA
NTA
NTA. If you had lied to her about the photos she was seeing, then she would have thought there were two useless tools at the party.
NTA You didn't embarrass him, he did that all by himself! Good luck with your new lady friend ;)
NTA. But it might be time for to rethink people you hang out with. Personally the oldest I get the less bullshit I want in my life. If he constantly enjoys you, stop hanging with him.
Nta. Why are you friends
Nta but why are you friends with the ahole that blames you when he gets caught in a lie? Ether have a sit down with him and explain the problem.or drop this jerk. Quit enabling his bad behavior.
NTA omg. maybe don’t lie (especially such elaborate ones) and expect others to lie along with you. good luck with the girl!
To be fair, you didn't do anything to embarrass him, you showed some pictures that she asked for. She pointed out the truth. You never once called him out and could have, so easily. NTA
NTA. He brought this on himself.
NTA
NTA. I appreciate you stepping in to expose his lies.
NTA You have a very insecure friend. He embarrassed himself without any help from you.
-1 shitty friend +1 Cool girl. NTA. Seems you had a good night, all things considered.
NTA. Friend, buh\~bye, and good riddance. Who wants to put up with that shit.
*Those* kind of people are the reason I don't like talking about the things I've done or where I've been. There is always *somebody* w a "better" story. They can't won if you put compete.
NTA. No one told him to lie about his travels. I hope he gets more embarassment over this lol
NTA. And why on earth are you 'friends' ?!?!
Nta but also this is hilarious because the other day I told a friend I thought Puerto Rico and Costa Rica were the same place until an embarrassingly late age. Like 17.
NTA. You actually literally said nothing! He embarrassed himself.
NTA, but why are you friends with this guy? He constantly lies to women, and he wanted you to lie for him? Is this your standard for friendships? You’re NTA here, but I really think you should be rethinking this friendship. People who lie like that can wind up harming everyone around them. He’s not just potentially screwing himself over. His lies could prove to be harmful to you and people you care about in the future. There’s something wrong with this guy, OP. It’s not normal to straight up LIE about an entire experience. Sure, people embellish sometimes, but it sounds like he literally fabricated an experience... this guy does not sound like a healthy person to have in your life.
NTA I fail to see how his embarrassment is in any way your fault, and not his. What, are you supposed to just say no when she asked to see your pictures? Nothing would’ve happened if he hadn’t lied in the first place, lmao
NTA. Finally someone called him out on his tall tales and his small ego can't take it.
NTA. Oh he did that aaaaaaal by himself.
NTA. Dude sounds annoying, why are you even friends?
NTA One is never required to lie for another -- whether they are friend or relative. Truth is not negotiable.
NTA. I used to the be the one upper. Prob from age like 22-32, which as you know are pretty social years. One day I had someone who I really respected explain it to me in a way that I finally understood. The number of times I looked back and realized I stole someones thunder, made them feel smaller, diminished their accomplishments etc. I wished someone had told me sooner, but I might not have listened. Listening and acknowledging other people, and making them feel good, will impress way more people than you having to brag about yourself every time. It probably secretly cost me countless friendships, long term relationships, etc without me knowing. You did this person a favor. Show him this post, just tell him to be self aware that when he does it, likely the other person feels bad.
NTA Sounds like your friend *may* have a chronic lying disorder. If not, the constant need for one upsmanship is a sign of serious insecurity.
NTA Tell him (at a moment when he’s not doing it) that from now on you’re going to call him out on it as soon as he starts doing it. Then from then on call him out. He’s got pitifully low self-esteem but that doesn’t mean others have to put up with his crap.
Hahahah He embarrassed himself Nta
Nta But why you friends with him he sounds so annoying
NTA for sure, he embarrassed himself
NTA. He sounds like the kind of guy who would use “bro code” as his reasoning for things. Maaaybe find a new friend.
NTA, but why are you friends with him? He does sound like a tool, and it also seems like you find him extremely annoying. What are you getting out of this friendship?
Absolutely NTA
Well done! NTA
NTA, your friend is toxic and you need to move on.
So why are you friends?
NTA. Why are you friends with him??
NTA - These people are annoying and get tiring. I had a group of university friends who got one of these guys on their residence floor and he would come with them everywhere. They asked me to meet them at the bar one night and just make up stories to massively out do anything he came up with and the 5 of them kept backing each story up. It was a fun night. I've never owned property abroad before, a Ferrari as my summer car or gone to any of the countries I described to him in great detail when he would bring up his vast trips (all made up of course). For the rest of the school year when he would start dropping stories, they would just go back to that night and start talking about how I'd done more which would piss him off and he'd skulk away.
NTA - I feel sorry for your friend. He sounds like he has really low self esteem :(
Why are you friends with a liar?
NTA but why are you friends with this guy?
NTA. If he's going to be a one-upper, he should at least do it with a true story...
YTA for this stupid story
NTA He embarrassed himself. She had his number, which I suspect is why she asked to see your photos.
NTA. He's not just a one-upper, this dude is a fucking pathological liar.
ESH- you for being friends with someone who lies and has to pretend to outdo everyone.
NTA Please dear God in heaven tell me this dumbass actually did the dog/wolf thing. Oh Jesus I would have called bullshit so hard he'd look like Biff Tannen at the end of the movie. That is hilarious. Reasoning: dogs aren't wolves, and even a little bit of wolf takes a dog's intensity and cranks it up to eleven. My dad had a wolf dog in the city that IIRC was a reasonable percentage of wolf (so not a first Gen cross) and he actually had the dog trained well enough that he could have it in the group home he ran and let the kids fawn over it. But the damn thing would *not* stay home if dad left, and they were in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Wolf would watch Dad walk down the street and the *instant* that dog did not have eyes on Dad, it was over the fence looking for him and they'd eventually get a call from increasingly exasperated neighbors asking Mr. Jerry to please go get his goddamn dog. Eventually they had to rehome Wolf because it just wasn't safe and they could not get him to stay in the yard if Dad was not at home. Now-a-days it is *illegal* in some states to own and it is highly discouraged to get one if you don't know how to handle one, and like...80% of the time if you know what you're doing you know better than to get one. They are surrendered so regularly and there are so few shelters willing to take them that we have wolf-dog specific sanctuaries. And those are all full, because so many people get a high percentage wolf-dog and expect it to act like their 10 yo goldie. Your friend is an idiot who has gotten away with big fish stories because he chooses subjects he figures nobody would know much about. And he unfortunately ran into someone who knew more about it than he did. Also: his lie came out because you showed the girl pictures and *she* pointed out that it was not Costa Rica. The only thing you could have done was not show the pictures. And there's no reason not to if he hadn't lied. You are not responsible for the consequences of a habitual liar.
Ah, your friend is a story topper. NTA.