If you’ve ever been mansplained to before, pestered by an annoying finance bro in a bar, or feel the need to get revenge on the dude who did the dirty on your best friend, a new book has what it claims are the 109 phrases guaranteed to cut the guy down to size.
And it’s written by a self-confessed ‘gender traitor.’
Kyle Prue – who wrote his first book at just 18 and has a social media following of nearly five million – has condensed his viral TikTok series into the handbook How To P*** Off Men, detailing the ways he believes you can destroy the male ego swiftly and without mercy.
LA-based Prue starts by clarifying: ‘P***ing someone off is not, strictly speaking, a good or nice thing to do.
‘However, if you are going to do it, I recommend doing it discreetly and with surgical precision.’
‘I like your blouse’ – a phrase that might not strike at the heart of Harry Styles’ masculinity, but Kyle says it effectively annoys pretty much any other man (as long as they’re wearing a shirt)
‘I love your cosplay’ – don’t use this one on Travis Kelce, or any other actual athlete for that matter
And he adds as a warning: ‘Please only use the insults in this book if you feel safe and comfortable doing so. Public spaces and witnesses are not only good armor; they’re a good audience too.’
He insists he didn’t start the series because he hates men. But because, he says: ‘I think it’s time for men to take our cultural medicine. To let our anger inform us of our hurt and finally heal from it.’
‘I like your blouse’
Kyle says this is successful on pretty much any man, as long as he’s wearing a shirt.
‘I thought your voice would be deeper’
Need to escape a disastrous Hinge date? This one is gold.
‘Oh, I saw that on Pinterest’
Kyle suggests using this particular phrase when a man is bragging about something he’s interested in, or shows you one of his tattoos. It will do one of two things:
- Drive a stake into the heart of his ambitions of originality.
- Get the words of comedian Ali Wong ringing in his head: ‘If a man has a Pinterest, he’s probably Pinterest-ed in men.’
‘I love your cosplay’
That guy who always wears a sports jersey? He’ll hate this, and no doubt respond with something like: ‘It’s not cosplay.’ To which you reply: ‘Well, it kind of is… you’re not really a basketball/football/baseball player.’
‘That tracks’
Say this when he tells you his star sign.
Apparently even men who like James Corden don’t want to be compared to him
Kyle Prue confesses to being a ‘gender traitor’ with his book How To P*** Off Men
‘You remind me of James Corden’
He’ll wonder why you’d think that, of course. When you asks, you respond with: ‘Oh, you’re just funny the way he’s funny.’ Kyle says: ‘Even men who like James Corden don’t want to be James Corden.’
Call his outburst a hissy fit
Guaranteed to send him into an even greater rage. It’s probably best not use use this phrase if he’s already passed the threshold of wall punching, advises Kyle.
‘You would be such a good Frodo’
Ideally, this conversation happens while you’re watching Lord of the Rings with. Then you might pause and add: ‘Actually, you know who you could be?’
He’s going to hope you say Aragorn, the rugged hero played by Viggo Mortensen.
‘Samwise,’ you’ll say, referring to the loyal, but slightly overweight, not very smart hobbit.
However, Kyle notes that the effectiveness of this conversation is entirely dependent on how much of a Lord of the Rings fan the target is.
‘A true fan will know that Samwise is, in fact, the best character,’ he says. ‘In this instance, the most devastating burn with be Boromir.’
When watching Lord of the Rings, the biggest burn is to compare a man to Boromir (left), while a true fan will know that Samwise (right) is the best character
‘You have the confidence of a much taller man’
Disclaimer: Don’t use this on a man you plan to have any kind of relationship with. Once uttered, there’s no coming back – unless he has a very good sense of humor.
‘I’m here’
This one comes with some very specific instructions. It should only be executed in the middle of the night and, immediately after sending, turn your phone off.
Kyle then advises waiting ‘as many days as you want’ before finally texting him back saying: ‘Sorry, wrong person.’
‘Ooh-la-la’
This works with anyone who thinks they’re fancy, but particularly someone who tells you, with pride, that they attended an Ivy League university.
‘Men from America’s “best and brightest” institutions ruin any cool factor that it affords them by never shutting up about it for the rest of their lives,’ says Kyle.
For instance, the conversation might go something like this:
Them: ‘I went to Penn.’
You: ‘Penn State?’
Them: ‘No, Penn.’
You: ‘What’s the difference?’
Them: ‘Penn is an Ivy.’
You: ‘Ooh-la-la!’
How To P*** Off Men: 109 Things to Say to Shatter the Male Ego by Kyle Prue is published by Sourcebooks
