I saw this used elsewhere, now I must pass it along.
There's a phrase for the phenomenon that is the person who says something violent, offensive, or mean and then waits for the reaction from the room to determine if it was meant to be serious or funny. The state of seriousness or clowning is unknown, apparently to everyone including the speaker, until the speaker is observed and therefore reacted to.
That person is called "Schrödinger's douchebag."
Poor Erwin Schrödinger. He discovered complex theories and his name has become reduced to internet babble about uncertainty. I'm still using the phrase, it conveys a lot of information in two words.
There's a phrase for the phenomenon that is the person who says something violent, offensive, or mean and then waits for the reaction from the room to determine if it was meant to be serious or funny. The state of seriousness or clowning is unknown, apparently to everyone including the speaker, until the speaker is observed and therefore reacted to.
That person is called "Schrödinger's douchebag."
Poor Erwin Schrödinger. He discovered complex theories and his name has become reduced to internet babble about uncertainty. I'm still using the phrase, it conveys a lot of information in two words.