one-upmanship
always trying to be in a stronger or better position
TRANSLATION
one-upmanship = Versuch, besser als andere zu sein. Die Kunst, den Anderen um eine Nasenlänge voraus zu sein
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
While the Europeans were playing ONE-UPMANSHIP with their various techniques, Seiko was simultaneously taking a fresh look at quartz and so it was the Japanese company who launched the world's first quartz wristwatch.
BBC News
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THE Monaco Yacht Show, which ran from September 28th to October 1st, is arguably the world's most extravagant game of ONE-UPMANSHIP.
The Economist
BBC News
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THE Monaco Yacht Show, which ran from September 28th to October 1st, is arguably the world's most extravagant game of ONE-UPMANSHIP.
The Economist
Did you
know?
one-upmanship
noun phrase (informal)
When someone does or says something in order to prove that they are better than someone else.
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
One-upmanship is the systematic and deliberate practice of making someone feel inferior and thereby gaining the status of being "one-up" on them.
One-upmanship is the art or practice of successively outdoing a competitor.
Exactly when the term originated is unknown; several examples are known from the early 1900s. It was used in the title of a book by Stephen Potter, published in 1952 as a follow-up to The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship (or the Art of Winning Games without Actually Cheating) (1947), which also contained the term, and Lifemanship titles in his series of tongue-in-cheek self-help books, and film and television derivatives, that teach various ploys to achieve this.
This satire of self-help style guides manipulates traditional British conventions for the gamester, all life being a game, who understands that if you're not one-up, you're one-down. Potter's unprincipled principles apply to almost any possession, experience or situation, deriving maximum undeserved rewards and discomforting the opposition.
The 1960 film School for Scoundrels and the 2006 film School For Scoundrels were satiric portrayals of how to use Potter's ideas.
(adapted from Wikipedia)
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IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"I get worried when team members start practicing one-upmanship, it can be a sign of tension in the group."
noun phrase (informal)
When someone does or says something in order to prove that they are better than someone else.
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
One-upmanship is the systematic and deliberate practice of making someone feel inferior and thereby gaining the status of being "one-up" on them.
One-upmanship is the art or practice of successively outdoing a competitor.
Exactly when the term originated is unknown; several examples are known from the early 1900s. It was used in the title of a book by Stephen Potter, published in 1952 as a follow-up to The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship (or the Art of Winning Games without Actually Cheating) (1947), which also contained the term, and Lifemanship titles in his series of tongue-in-cheek self-help books, and film and television derivatives, that teach various ploys to achieve this.
This satire of self-help style guides manipulates traditional British conventions for the gamester, all life being a game, who understands that if you're not one-up, you're one-down. Potter's unprincipled principles apply to almost any possession, experience or situation, deriving maximum undeserved rewards and discomforting the opposition.
The 1960 film School for Scoundrels and the 2006 film School For Scoundrels were satiric portrayals of how to use Potter's ideas.
(adapted from Wikipedia)
---
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"I get worried when team members start practicing one-upmanship, it can be a sign of tension in the group."
