2

Okay so I'm sure many people have seen this happen before and it tends to happen apparently intentionally, in more of a way to seem comical, but here is the example for what I am talking about:

"You don't want to over-season the fish at all now..." -covers the entire bowl with seasoning- "Alright now we'll season the other side. Just remember to not season it too much now..." -pretty much uses an entire bottle of seasoning-

So the first word I thought for this would be a "hypocrite", but I don't think it would accurately describe the situation here. To me, a hypocrite is more of this:

"Stop smacking while eating dude that's annoying." -smacks loudly while eating-

Sorry if this doesn't make any sense, but I was just wondering if there was another word (preferably a noun) that more accurately describes the first example.

|improve this question
  • 1
    I edited your question to try to clarify it; please change it if I introduced anything you don't like. I think "hypocrite" is still the best word. – herisson Jan 31 '16 at 7:34
  • 1
    @JEL That makes a lot of sense; showing somebody how to do something the right way by doing it the wrong way. However, one would not know that the "teacher" in this case is actually doing it wrong because they never explicitly pointed out that fact. Even though it is noticeable by people who have a more common sense, the idea might fly over one's head. – Shortninja Jan 31 '16 at 8:08
  • 1
    Oh, it's used for comic effect. Hell man, that makes mincemeat of my suggestion :) A sort of "do as I say, not as I do" angle. – Mari-Lou A Jan 31 '16 at 8:23
  • 1
    @Mari-LouA Yeah I feel like there really is no word for this exact thing in the context of comedy, so any word that relates to the situation without attention to the comical intention should work! – Shortninja Jan 31 '16 at 8:25
  • 1
    I think 'clown' probably conveys what you want fairly well. – JEL Jan 31 '16 at 8:28
3

contradictory (Wiktionary)
3. That is diametrically opposed to something.

A common idiom that describes the scenario described by the OP would be:
practise what you preach

e.g. That TV cook's advice is contradictory, he doesn't practise what he preaches

|improve this answer
  • What about a noun form of this? Just "contradictory person"? I like this word for it because it remains relatively neutral. But what do you think about the word "antithetic"? – Shortninja Jan 31 '16 at 8:00
  • A "contradictory person" could work, but maybe contrarian is better. Your suggestion, antithetic, is good, but I confess I had to double-check its meaning. – Mari-Lou A Jan 31 '16 at 8:03
  • A contrarian is someone who takes the less popular route. I doubt if it could fit OP's context of obnoxious hypocrisy. – BiscuitBoy Jan 31 '16 at 8:07
  • @sumelic Thanks for pointing that out. I was comparing the word to "hypocrite", so I thought it was obvious, Sorry! – Shortninja Jan 31 '16 at 8:10
  • In an appropriate context, contrarian might work, e.g. He's always doing the opposite of what he says, he's a bit of a contrarian. But... the dictionary definition doesn't really support this usage. – Mari-Lou A Jan 31 '16 at 8:12
1

The guy's a phony.

Another good word would be mountebank, but it's almost never used these days.

Mountebank:

a person who sells quack medicines, as from a platform in public places, attracting and influencing an audience by tricks, storytelling, etc.

any charlatan or quack.

[Dictionary.com]

|improve this answer
  • 1
    Ooh! A driveby downvote. Should be fodder for your next meta post. – deadrat Jan 31 '16 at 7:44
  • It's an okay solution, better than just a hypocrite. But then again a phony has a negative connotation too, right? @deadrat I hope you know it wasn't me! I can't rate people with my current reputation anyways. – Shortninja Jan 31 '16 at 7:48
  • Hi, Ricky, I fixed a typo and copied and pasted essential part of the source. – user140086 Jan 31 '16 at 7:49
  • @Shortninja No, I didn't think it was you. People who ask good questions tend to explain why answers don't meet their needs. – deadrat Jan 31 '16 at 7:57
  • +1 for phony, but the second one is off target in my opinion. – Mari-Lou A Jan 31 '16 at 7:59
0

Inconsistent may apply:

  • Displaying or marked by a lack of consistency, especially:

    • not regular or predictable; erratic: inconsistent behavior.
    • lacking in correct logical relation; contradictory: inconsistent statements.

The Free Dictionary

|improve this answer
  • That makes sense to me. I wonder if there is a noun for this besides "inconsistent person", though! Thanks for the suggestion. – Shortninja Jan 31 '16 at 8:13
0

It could also be called double standards: someone tells you not to do something, then does that thing or allows others to do it.

My boss told me not to eat at the desk, then walked straight past my co-worker who was eating at his desk, without any complaints may I add. She really has double standards.

|improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.