There are several tell-tale signs when you’ve won an argument. People are predictable. The last thing that a person will ever do is admit that they have no idea what they are talking about when they are defensive. They’re also petty.

If, when out of arguments, someone tries to save face by saying something along the lines of, “well, we both have our opinions and we should just leave it at that” you have won. When someone responds to logic and evidence with hostility instead of counter-evidence, you’ve won against a particularly stupid person. When someone just rage quits because they’ve exhausted any words they had to defend themselves and attempts to dismiss you as “hopeless” you have won. Extra points if they block you even when all you’ve done is proven them wrong.

You see, people can’t just disagree anymore. They have to condemn any deviation from their established thought process as a threat to western civilization.

A lot of times, people invalidate their own arguments without even realizing it.

If you’ve ever used the following words and/or phrases unironically whilst arguing with someone, you lost that argument. These are the words and phrases that invalidate anything you might have been trying to say.

#1. Cuck

This is the equivalent of schoolyard kids shouting “you’re gay!” at each other. The word “cuck” is short for “cuckhold” which used to refer to men being cheated on sexually by their partner, implying that said man cannot please a woman and is therefore completely inadequate. Nowadays, it’s used by children leaning right wing to refer to people leaning left wing. It doesn’t matter what the circumstance is, anyone who has the gall to disagree is labeled a “cuck.”

What you think you are saying:

“Ha, I have just emasculated my opponent! They probably don’t even know what the word means! Anyone who disagrees with my true objectivity is just a sissy who wants to make the world a ‘safe space’ because they can’t handle reality.”

What you are really saying:

“I have absolutely no clue how politics work, but have placed my own loosely-held stance on such a high pedestal that I will literally use juvenile insults in place of argument. I have the self-awareness of a potato and my failed attempts at appearing aloof and dominant is a front for my shallow grasp on what masculinity is. I saw Fight Club once and thought it was about how men should be nihilistic cultists.”

#2. Social Justice Warrior

If you’ve ever had even the slightest progressive opinion about a social issue, you’ve probably been called this. It refers to people who hold the idea that a government run by rich white guys might not be beneficial to anyone who isn’t a rich white guy. The intention is to dismiss anything and everything you might say as liberal hippy nonsense. It’s a convenient excuse to avoid listening to anything that might disrupt your world view.

What you think you are saying:

“My opponent is just upset because they blame everything on white males. Even if they’re a white male, they’re self-hating and anything they say is bull.”

What you are really saying:

“I am so threatened by the idea that women and minorities might face issues that I don’t understand that I will actively refuse to listen to any argument that says they do no matter how factual. I would rather cover my ears and go “lalalalalala” than even consider the possibility that my being in the majority might make certain things easier for me. Nobody dares to point out my own ignorances and prejudices! My self-importance is more important than anything else!”

#3. Politically correct

Someone once noticed that being part of the majority shouldn’t entitle you to things the minority doesn’t. As such, people who aren’t considered the default began noting that they would like to be treated with respect and not be referred to or treated with words or ideas used to belittle them. Thus was history’s greatest scapegoat created. Do you use the term “African-American” to describe a black person living in the US with African lineage? Do you not prefer to be referred to with a slur that reduces your identity to that of an oppressive caricature based on your race, sex, orientation, or disability? Someone has tried to excuse their inability to identify people as people with the phrase “politically correct” as if being a blatant asshole gave them the right to determine how you should be treated. All that being politically correct refers to is the acknowledgement that societal expectations and some cultural trends can be incredibly bigoted. The refusal to be “politically correct” is the refusal to treat people as people.

What you think you are saying:

“I don’t have time to think dance around your oh-so precious feelings! This is real life, dammit, and I’m not going to shield you from the harsh world just so you can feel special!”

What you are really saying:

“I don’t want to stop saying racist things. I’m perfectly okay with dehumanizing slurs so long as they do not refer to me. Casual racism should be the norm and bullying people gives me a stiffy.”

#4. You are a typical _____ .

That blank can refer to almost anything, but it’s usually referring to a political alignment. This phrase can come in many forms. “Spoken like a true _____.” “Pfft, typical ___.” Basically, whenever someone really needs to feel better than someone else for arbitrary labels.

What you think you’re saying:

“I see right through you. I’ve dealt with people just like you all the time and you are beneath me because you are stupid.”

“I’m an arrogant dunderhead who can only argue with strawmen.”

Honorable Mentions:

Propaganda:

This word is used to refer to anything that implies something someone else does not agree with. Don’t like that scientists have proven multiple times that global warming and climate change is real? Call it “Chinese propaganda” and now you don’t even have to acknowledge its existence. The only reason it didn’t make the list is because about 2% of what is called propaganda actually is propaganda.

Sorrynotsorry:

“I don’t want to come off as a dickwad, so I’ll just be somewhat passive aggressive. This is the most clever use of combining a series of words ever.” This didn’t make the list because while it’s often used in arguments, it can’t be used as an argument itself. It’s just obnoxious and the people who use it should never put pen to paper ever again.

Any reference to Hitler or the Third Reich:

Not everything is like Hitler. Just because you don’t like someone does not make them a Nazi. Trying to find parallels between your boss and a genocidal fascist bent on global domination is stupid and shows that you don’t know how parallels work. Can you find no other basis of comparison other than Hitler? WW2 was ages ago, move on to something else.

This isn’t on the list because this phenomenon has already been dubbed “Godwin’s law” and it’s generally accepted that if you enact it you have lost.