For example, people that are ostensibly unaware but in reality behaving in a methodical way. Playing dumb but also ingratiating yourself in a savvy way. A word to describe politicians, influencers, and the like.
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1Which words from the thesaurus lookups for these did you discard, and why? – tchrist Nov 23 '23 at 23:26
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@tchrist I don't think subservient or unctuous accurately capture the type of person this describes - they maintain an air of superiority, not of servility – CuriousHarry Nov 24 '23 at 01:48
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How do you play dumb while maintaining an air of superiority? – Stuart F Nov 24 '23 at 16:22
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@StuartF by equivocating, being coy – CuriousHarry Nov 24 '23 at 17:35
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I think your question is conflating two things. There's the obsequiousness of the toady or sychophant, and then there's the smooth palaver of the politician who manages to speak without saying anything that could possibly alienate voters or offend. – TimR Nov 25 '23 at 11:51
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Funny how nobody ever shows up here asking for our help in saying something *nice* about somebody else. Instead it's always about saying horrible things about something we disapprove of, even though this has never required fancy words to sting the worst. – tchrist Dec 16 '23 at 04:39