Some families thrive on playful banter… until one person takes it a little too far.

What began as light teasing over jobs and universities became a decades-long feud between family members fueled by subtle one-upmanship.

Now, one relative’s success has turned that rivalry into a masterclass in petty revenge.

Read on for the full story.

A Useful Degree of Pettiness.

My partner is from a respectable working-class family, and my FIL’s sister married an architect who we’ll call John.

There’s always been a bit of a rivalry between them.

John and Jane always had what Jane describes as “a bit of friendly bants” between them, but I gather that he needled her about their jobs and for working for the NHS.

When my partner went to university, he made a snobby comment about that university having been a trade school until fairly recently, and rubbed in the universities that his children got accepted to and the degrees they were doing.

But as time went on, their lives went off in very different directions.

Now it’s 20 years later, and my partner is the only one of the kids that’s actually using their degree (incidentally, at the NHS).

Every time Jane speaks to John, she asks after his kids and then gently rubs in my partner’s degree and achievements.

Unfortunately for John, my partner is living the “I accidentally made myself important at work and now it’s ruining my life” meme — and there are a lot of achievements to rub in.

She didn’t need to win the argument — she just won at life!

What did Reddit think?

Some people really treat life like it’s some big competition.

College degrees have many purposes, but they shouldn’t be used just for gloating.

Being proud of your own success should be enough.

At the end of the day, if you’re successful enough, your accomplishments should speak for themselves.

The best revenge is living well!

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.