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Quite common in a politicians' case; is there any word/phrase that describes the huge gap of what they said (too many things) and what actually they did (nothing)? Also, is there any term for them, the speakers (boasters?)?

Only one word/phrase please, if any.

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  • A chasm between words and deeds? Dec 9, 2013 at 6:31
  • They might be called "snow jobbers". Dec 9, 2013 at 7:30
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    @DamkerngT. As a native speaker of English I can honestly say I have never heard of someone being called a snow jobber.
    – Matt
    Dec 9, 2013 at 10:20
  • @Matt Actually, it's new to me too. The post reminded me "snow job", and while I was looking for its spelling, I found "snow jobber" being used in many places, as a person who did a snow job. So I thought it might be an acceptable slang. Dec 9, 2013 at 10:30

1 Answer 1

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There are lots of words and phrases you can use, but the easiest one is just to call them a hypocrite:

Hypocrite (n)

a person who indulges in hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy (n)

The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.

Some useful phrases you might like also are:

[a pot] calling the kettle black (idiom) - someone accusing someone of something that they themselves do

a wolf in sheep's clothing (idiom) - someone who tricks you into believing that they are one thing when they are in fact the opposite.

a fraud - someone who is entirely not who they claim to be (esp. someone who does so for criminal ends)

a sham - someone who is entirely not who they claim to be (esp. someone who pretends to be famous/successful/wealthy but is not).

a charlatan - somewhat archaic form of hypocrite

Someone who is duplicitous says one thing but does another (esp. focus on what they said being wrong).

Someone who is two-faced says one thing but does another (esp. with focus on what they did being wrong).

With the exception of the idioms, you can add superlatives if you want:

I found out that Sophie is a total fraud!

I found out that Joseph is a massive hypocrite!

James does what!? That's sickeningly duplicitous.

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