I'm looking for a good English slang for someone who gives opinions — usually negative — without being asked for them.
Are there any? I know in Hungarian they are called megmondóember but I can't find any good word for them in English.
-
1Google Translate suggests "I'll tell you man" for the Hungarian word, presumably because their opinion starts with "I'll tell you this for free..." or some such.– Andrew Leach ♦Jan 20, 2017 at 9:11
-
I imagine that, in most cases, the other person is just trying to help, if only to try to clarify things in his own mind. For sure, the other guy doesn't come knocking to find out if and what is wrong. Someone told him of the trouble, likely in an invitational manner. Insecure people need something to harp on, so they call the other guy a know-it-all or something. To the extent that they go on the internet to find more words and phrases for it. Lol.– G. Rem laughs at the MonicaC'sNov 17, 2021 at 15:43
Add a comment
|
4 Answers
In British English you might use:
know-it-all - someone who behaves as if they have all the answers to something, and know more than everybody else, usually giving these answers without being asked.
busybody - from the two words busy meaning engaged in an activity and body meaning person - somebody who interferes in others' affairs.
nosy parker - slightly archaic, nosy meaning interested in things which do not concern them, and Parker being a proper noun.
There aren't actually many precise words for this, but people that do it are said to butt in or mouth off.
Noun: kibitzer ki-bit-su(r)
(Yiddish) a meddler who offers unwanted advice to others
Derived forms: kibitzers
Type of: meddler
And the verb is kibitz:
Verb: kibitz ki-bits
Make unwanted and intrusive comments
"Don't kibitz: he's sensitive";
- kibbitz [N. Amer]
Derived forms: kibitzed, kibitzing, kibitzes
Type of: comment, notice, point out, remark
buttinsky or buttinski, according to Merriam-Webster:
a person given to butting in --- a troublesome meddler.
Example of buttinsky in a sentence: there's always some buttinsky who has to tell you there's a better way to do whatever you're doing.
Although the word originated in the US, here are several examples from the OED of use by British writers:
1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise iv. 69, I never..met with such a bunch of buttinskis... Nothing is sacred to you.
1960 P. G. Wodehouse Jeeves in Offing v. 50 It is never pleasant for a man of sensibility to find himself regarded as a buttinski and a trailing arbutus
For origin, the OED says:
Etymology: Jocular, < butt in (see butt v.1 1d) + -sky, final element in many Slavonic names
butt in, OED
to butt in: to thrust oneself unceremoniously and uninvited into an affair, discussion, etc.; to intrude, interfere without good reason. orig. U.S.
backseat driver (n.)
Someone who gives unwanted advice or who tries to control something that is supposed to be controlled by another person.
Several members of the board of directors have accused him of being a backseat driver. m-w
A person who is eager to advise without responsibility. Lexico
A meddler who insists on giving unwanted advice. vocabulary.com
An annoying person who is fond of giving advice to the person performing a task or doing something, especially when the advice is either wrong or unwelcome. V&S Publishers; Concise Dictionary of Idioms
