When Vocabulary Becomes Vengeance: The Petty Revenge of a Wordy Supervisor
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as a well-executed act of petty revenge—especially when it’s sprinkled with a dash of intellectual superiority and a pinch of poetic justice. In the quirky world of office politics, where coffee is lifeblood and eye rolls are currency, sometimes the smallest victories are the sweetest. One Redditor, u/Artistic_Candy7420, shared a story that proves the pen (or at least the email) is mightier than the sword—especially when it comes loaded with SAT words.
If you’ve ever worked with a “problem employee”—the kind who can clear a lunchroom with one scowl or derail an entire meeting with a single complaint—then this story will resonate deeply. Grab your thesaurus and settle in for a tale of vocabulary, vengeance, and the subtle art of making someone realize they’re not quite as smart as they think.
The Setup: A Problematic Employee Meets Her Match
Every office seems to have that one person: the drama magnet, the storm cloud in every sunny day, the “wretched employee,” as our protagonist so affectionately calls her. She was notorious for causing interpersonal chaos—so much so that colleagues were actually quitting because of her. When she felt “insulted” by a coworker and threatened to stop covering their shifts, things escalated to the point where both the supervisor (our hero) and the director had to step in.
During a tense conversation, the director attempted a little managerial empathy, saying, “I know you feel slighted…” The wretched employee screeched the meeting to a halt, admitting she didn’t know what “slighted” meant. The director, ever patient, explained. But the supervisor? Oh, the supervisor took mental notes. If “slighted” was enough to stop her in her tracks, what other words might induce a similar reaction?
The Art of Lexical Warfare
From that day forward, our protagonist began a subtle campaign. She started peppering her emails—directed both at the problematic employee and the wider team—with vocabulary just a notch or two above the everyday. Nothing extreme; just a few high school-level synonyms, courtesy of Google, to “elevate” the tone of her correspondence.
The beauty of this approach? It was plausible deniability in action. No one could accuse her of being unprofessional—after all, she was just communicating clearly, right? But for one person, each email became a cryptic puzzle, an exercise in humility (and, most likely, frantic Googling).
Profanity, Professionalism, and the Final Straw
The petty revenge reached its zenith when the wretched employee, tasked with sending out the daily safety note, dropped an expletive in a department-wide email. “Good job getting shit done,” she wrote—setting a tone that was, shall we say, less than reverent.
Our supervisor saw her chance. She fired off a polite but firm response: “Please refrain from using profanity in emails as it sets an irreverent tone and I wouldn't want there to be anything misconstrued that this isn't a professional environment.”
The problematic employee, as expected, went nuclear. She accused the supervisor of singling her out (spoiler: nobody else had ever done this), and—here’s the pièce de résistance—complained about the word “misconstrued.” She actually called another colleague to vent, exclaiming, “Who even says that? I don't even know what that means?!”
Cue the self-satisfied Grinch grin from our word-wielding protagonist. Mission accomplished.
Why This Petty Revenge Feels So Good
There’s a delicious irony in taking the high road—by using highbrow words. Unlike more aggressive forms of workplace retaliation, this method is subtle, non-confrontational, and (crucially) defensible. It also has the added benefit of encouraging literacy—albeit unintentionally.
But let’s be honest: what makes this story so satisfying is the feeling of reclaiming power from someone who’s made life miserable for others. It’s a gentle, non-toxic way to push back against toxicity, and it’s a reminder that sometimes, the best revenge is simply making someone realize they’re not the smartest person in the room.
Conclusion: The Pen Is Mightier (and Sometimes Petty)
So, next time you find yourself facing a workplace nemesis, consider reaching for the dictionary instead of the dagger. A well-placed word can sting more than any sharp retort—and might even teach your adversary a thing or two along the way.
Have you ever used vocabulary as a weapon of (petty) revenge? Or perhaps been on the receiving end of a word you didn’t quite understand? Share your stories in the comments below—bonus points if you use a word that would make our “wretched employee” squirm!
Remember: In the office jungle, sometimes it’s survival of the wittiest.
Original Reddit Post: A problem employee didn't know the word 'slighted?' I made sure my emails used wording they might not know ...