What’s the most passive-aggressive thing you’ve ever done? Some people have no problem starting confrontations, happy to tell others what they think. But the rest of us aren’t so brave. That means that when we get mad, we become passive-aggressive.
And yeah, passive-aggressiveness often goes hand-in-hand with pettiness. When we get mad enough about something, we often take revenge in the pettiest way possible. Are we proud of it? Not particularly, but you have to admit that it’s understandable.
There’s just something so satisfying about getting back at someone with a subtle dig.
On the other hand, there are people who are so petty they’re in a league of their own. They take their passive-aggressiveness to new heights. Their pettiness makes our jaws drop. They might be over the top, but they’re also incredibly gutsy.
Some of them are being passive-aggressive to get back at someone for being rude. Others are trying to teach their friends a lesson. And some of them are petty just for the sake of being petty.
Is that the right way to live your life? That’s up to each of us to decide. Here are 70 people who belong in the passive-aggressive Hall of Fame.
1. No future for rude people
This post doesn’t go into specifics about how their behavior was rude, but we can only imagine. Maybe they were unpleasant to the wait staff or oblivious to other patrons in the shop. Either way, vengeance was served.
We don’t know what’s going on between these two people, but judging by those text printouts, it’s probably nothing good. Is it petty? Yes, but it also might be deserved.
Not only is this hysterically petty, but it’s also unbelievably ambitious. Right from their start, they were trying to take on IBM as a better company. That earns my respect.
If you know anyone British, just say the words “tea in the microwave” in front of them. The resulting rant will help you understand just how devastating the burn was.
Few things in the office world are ruder than stealing someone else’s snacks. When one coworker refused to mind his manners, others took matters into their own hands.
Kids who were young in the early 2000s will understand what a subtle burn this is. We communicated a lot through our MySpace pages, often without ever saying a direct word.
This is the coldest possible response anyone could have to an apology letter. It not only rejects the apology but also makes some digs at the spelling and grammar. Savage.
It seems Aunt Barbara’s vibes are bad enough that she’s being excluded from the family Thanksgiving. Did Mom ever stop to consider maybe she was just having a bad day?
Anyone who’s ever had a relationship fail because of cheating knows how devastating it is. This woman dealt with it triumphantly. I don’t think he’ll ever forget her now.
We’ll never know what these ladies did to offend Mom, but it was bad enough she took action. But she liked the picture of herself enough to keep it. She just modified it a bit.
Dating is a roll of the dice in more ways than one. You’re taking a chance on whether you’ll be compatible or if you’ve wasted your time and money. This guy wasn’t okay with that.
Is there anything worse than someone who parks thoughtlessly in a crowded parking lot? Come on, guys, it’s not that hard to fit between those white lines. At least this passerby was ready to help.
Ethan doesn’t have time to help all his classmates who were too lazy to get up and go to class. Well, that’s not quite true. He’ll help them, just in the pettiest way possible.
I see what you did there. He didn’t slash their tires, he “Slashed” their tires. But I think the message was sent loud and clear. Did he just happen to be carrying those photos around with him?
If your relationship is so controlling you can’t even ask another man for class notes, you might want to stop and evaluate. You might also want to ask a different classmate the next time you need help.
Is there anything more annoying than not being able to finish a season of a high-stakes show you’ve been binging? Consequently, is there anything more savagely petty than doing this?
We all know how frustrating it is to be left on read. Is it really that hard to take a few minutes to respond, especially when we’re having an important conversation? I’m adding this to my “Good Ideas” list.
It’s never cool when your coworkers eat your snacks, but this is a hilariously petty response. You monsters, don’t you know how sad they are about the mango?
I’m incredibly impressed that this artist was able to whip up such a skilled painting in just a couple of hours. It’s especially meaningful since it was meant specifically for one person.
This is an amazing passive-aggressive response to an argument. Of course, it means everyone in the house is going to suffer, but that’s the price of pettiness.
This is such a bizarre response to being asked to do a routine household chore. Picking through the garbage took much longer than just taking the whole bag out.
You can’t tell me this person wasn’t thinking about this throughout the whole relationship. It was probably in the back of their mind, just in case, things ended poorly.
What’s a girl to do when she has a photo of herself she really likes but it also contains an ex-friend? She whips out some top-tier photo editing skills, of course.
Stereotypically, women are notorious for being indecisive about what and where they want to eat. This man came up with a creative solution for bringing his girlfriend what she asked for.
One of the stresses of parenting is making sure your child eats enough. Sure, this dad is being petty, but he’s being petty in the name of love: protecting his son’s snacks.
This burn is so good, it’ll make your jaw drop. But dang if it isn’t petty, too. This person is so annoyed by other drivers parking poorly they made printouts.
Elsie’s burn will live on in infamy. Clearly, she doesn’t care for the current president. When she heard there was an ongoing joke about the size of his hands, she decided to put her amazing knitting skills to use.
I’m not sure what happened between these two, but here’s my theory: their relationship ended so badly he pretends she died. It’s the pettiest possible way to remind someone you hate them.
It can be hard to share a Netflix account with your family, especially if they don’t use it correctly. Dear everyone: those separate users are there for a reason, not just because they’re cute.
It’s rare to have a professor who’s this up-to-date on what the young kids are doing. Not only does he know how to airdrop photos, but he also knows how to choose the perfect meme.
Lynda is angling to get married to her long-term boyfriend, and her hints are anything but subtle. Now she’s posting on social media so all their friends know what she thinks about the situation.
I get that some people concentrate better when there’s music playing, but this guy is taking things to a new level. Forget wanting to listen to music — he wants to stick it to the professor.
I have so many questions about this one. Why does she have a lot of unwelcome guests at her house? How many hot dogs does she eat? Why does she get so much pleasure from this?
While this is a pretty funny response, it does raise some serious questions. Did he already have a coffin on hand, and if so, why? Or did he go out and drop thousands of dollars just to make a point?
Chelsea had to run to the bathroom, but she suspected her fellow cafe-goers of having their eyes on her laptop. This was her solution to scare anyone who dared to come close. Passive-aggressive, much?
People can be amazingly petty on the road. They take it personally when other drivers are discourteous. They also take a lot of pleasure in getting back at them in small ways like this.
When Ed gave them a bad review, this cafe decided to put him on the spot. Instead of responding or ignoring him, they called him out. I really hope he saw it.
You’ve probably experienced how annoying it is to share an apartment building with other people. These neighbors decided to vent their frustration in the most passive-aggressive way possible.
Was he annoyed that she wouldn’t share more or did he just want to be as annoying as possible? Either way, I think he’ll get to eat all the grapes now.
These neighbors might’ve never spoken to one another in person, but they have no problem trading barbs subtly. Things might end up being awkward at the neighborhood barbecue.
I have a LOT of questions about this man and his life story. What did 7-Eleven do to him? Was it really bad enough to fuel his entire career path or is he just insanely petty?
If I were this toddler’s mom, I’d be torn between admiration and embarrassment. It’s amazing how kids are often braver than adults are — even if it’s in the most passive-aggressive way possible.
This story happened in Nottinghamshire in the United Kingdom. Is it just me or is this the most British way of being petty? It’s passive-aggressive and nice at the same time.
…unless she’s familiar with American Sign Language, of course. I do hope this girl got a good grade on her final project. It’s amazing, secret signs and all.
Okay, to be fair, there’s an accepted social rule that you shouldn’t microwave fish in a shared workspace. It’s an unusually smelly lunch, and not in a good way.
If you’ve ever lived with a person who has long hair, you’ve probably experienced how it gets everywhere. They can’t help it, but they should at least clean up after themselves.
We’ll never know what this neighbor’s beef was, but it was enough for them to shovel only their side of the steps. It would’ve been just as simple to shovel the whole thing, but where’s the fun in that?
Some businesses, Sonic included, are known for their savage burns on their ad signs. But when their corporate office intervened, they lost no time complaining about them to the whole world.
Sure, it’s petty, but it’s also the sign of someone who grew up in a house with siblings. He’s used to defending his food because it’s been stolen too many times.
Have you ever disliked someone so much you didn’t want to laugh at their jokes? Someone needs to tell this lady she can laugh at a joke on the internet without giving any indication of it.
Why do I feel like this was revenge on a roommate who refused to change the toilet paper roll one too many times? Either way, that walk of shame will be punishment for everyone involved.
How much do you have to dislike someone to let them walk around with a booger in their nose? I mean, it’s kind of understandable, but it’s still pretty darn petty.
It’s pretty low to betray your friend by cheating with his girlfriend …but it’s also pretty disgusting to replace whiskey with pee. Every part of this is terrible. Just stop.
Barbara — who’s an elementary school teacher by the way — was so petty she actually did research to come up with this burn. That takes time, effort, and planning.
The entitlement of some people can only be matched by their pettiness. This lady was completely convinced that another woman had stolen her name. Then she insisted she could be the only Maureen Johnson.
Ghosting is all about falling off the face of the earth and ending communication with as much avoidance as possible. This guy did the exact opposite and confronted everyone directly.
Remember when you were a kid and your parents hit you with the old “We have food at home”? This adult kid finally got his revenge, and it was sweet. And petty. But also, sweet.
This is a rude thing to do, and the poster didn’t even really give a reason. They just felt like sticking it to poor David Duchovny, who didn’t do anything to them.
You’d think getting the phone taken away would be punishment enough, but this dad didn’t agree. Instead, he took it upon himself to make the whole situation worse.
You can’t force people to stop talking in real life, but in a group chat? Definitely. You just have to be gutsy enough to remove your mother from the conversation to avoid doing chores.
This might just be the harshest possible way to tell someone you’re not interested in talking to them. On top of that, they’re rubbing in the whole “I don’t have insomnia” thing.
I’d pay a million dollars to hear this whole story as well as the follow-up of what happened next. Helen just couldn’t resist throwing that little dig in at the end, which was, of course, super petty.
After her boyfriend cheated on her, this girl wasn’t going to remove their photos from Instagram. Instead, she went back and changed all her captions so the world would know what happened.
Was it petty for this Virginia man to spend this much time, effort, and money to make the DMV suffer? Yes, and we’re 100 percent on board. Everyone hates the DMV.
Public pools are places for everyone to enjoy, which means you have to be respectful of the people around you. This woman wasn’t, so she got to walk back to her car on hot concrete.
Many middle-aged women are horrifically rude to food servers. Of course, they’re nowhere near 65 years old, so it’s offensive to offer them a senior citizen discount.
This petty revenge took some serious planning. Amazingly, they managed to get the dog in on it, all through the power of a little fried chicken grease.
70 People who deserve recognition for how they execute pettiness
Cedric Jackson
01.24.20
What’s the most passive-aggressive thing you’ve ever done? Some people have no problem starting confrontations, happy to tell others what they think. But the rest of us aren’t so brave. That means that when we get mad, we become passive-aggressive.
And yeah, passive-aggressiveness often goes hand-in-hand with pettiness. When we get mad enough about something, we often take revenge in the pettiest way possible. Are we proud of it? Not particularly, but you have to admit that it’s understandable.
There’s just something so satisfying about getting back at someone with a subtle dig.
On the other hand, there are people who are so petty they’re in a league of their own. They take their passive-aggressiveness to new heights. Their pettiness makes our jaws drop. They might be over the top, but they’re also incredibly gutsy.
Some of them are being passive-aggressive to get back at someone for being rude. Others are trying to teach their friends a lesson. And some of them are petty just for the sake of being petty.
Is that the right way to live your life? That’s up to each of us to decide. Here are 70 people who belong in the passive-aggressive Hall of Fame.
