# Do you know anyone personally that refers to themselves in the third person? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 9, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943 "2026-09-09T23:54:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/1 "2026-09-09T23:54:30Z")
We all know that Trump often, or even most of the time, refers to himself in the third person. Do you know anyone personally that does it? I don’t. It just seems weird. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/2 "2026-09-10T00:13:44Z")
SuntanLotion used to. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/3 "2026-09-10T00:20:21Z")
I often hear pickleball players chastise themselves in the third person when they miss a shot. I prefer a concise, first person “Fuck me!”.. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/4 "2026-09-10T00:22:30Z")
When I play a D&D or other RP character I sometimes do. But in show business it is considered fairly normal- > **[Illeism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illeism)** > > Illeism (/ˈɪli.ɪzəm/; from Latin ille: "he; that man") is the act of referring to oneself in the third person instead of first person. It is sometimes used in literature as a stylistic device. In real-life usage, illeism can reflect a number of different stylistic intentions or involuntary circumstances. Early literature such as Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico or Xenophon's Anabasis, both ostensibly non-fictional accounts of wars led by their authors, used illeism to impart an air of... Quite a few “normal” people did it- see list= ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/5 "2026-09-10T00:33:39Z")
I do when I audibly or sub-audibly talk to myself with nobody around. Like if I’m giving myself a pep talk or chastising myself. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/6 "2026-09-10T00:37:53Z")
I used to work with a woman who did this. “Hey Jamie, are you working this weekend?” “Oh no, Jamie don’t do weekends.” mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/7 "2026-09-10T00:45:12Z")
I used to play for the Thirds (sometimes Seconds) of a cricket team in the Dallas area. One of the other teams in the league had a recently retired West Indies test (highest level of cricket) player on their team, called Carlisle Best. This was in 1994/95. He would have been in his mid 30s at the time, so he was much, much better than most of even the Firsts. Cricket was a VERY fringe sport in the USA at the time. He would continually refer to himself in the third person and provide a running commentary on his performance. He called himself “Bestie”. Example: “Bestie is coming out to bat, swinging his arms to loosen up. Bestie’s gonna get into the bowling today for sure. He’s gonna do some damage.” And on and on, for hours on end. This being before wall to wall coverage in the media of everything, I had no idea that he was apparently famous for this during his international career as well. I only found out after the internet became huge. > **[Carlisle Best](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlisle_Best)** > > Carlisle Alonza Best (born 14 May 1959) is a Barbadian former cricketer who played eight Tests and 24 One Day Internationals for the West Indies. He represented the West Indies at the 1987 World Cup. A right-handed batsman, Best hit his first scoring shot on his Test debut for six runs. This was only the second time in the history of Test cricket that this feat had been achieved. Over his career, Best made one century in each international format (both coming against England), and also captained... ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/8 "2026-09-10T01:49:09Z")
**burpo** doesn’t understand the question, does he? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/9 "2026-09-10T03:04:19Z")
George would never do anything like that. Why would George steal from the Yankees? Well I think it’s about time for George’s lunch ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/10 "2026-09-10T04:04:32Z")
Back before I retired, myself and two others sat near a co worker who was easily annoyed by our conversations. The three of us started referring to ourselves in third person just to annoy her. We did it for a few years. We’ve retired years ago and to this day still do it on occasion just for fun. Sam wants to know if John wants to meet for lunch tomorrow? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/11 "2026-09-10T04:09:06Z")
Didn’t Ted Bundy do this, in at least one interview? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/12 "2026-09-10T04:35:44Z")
Yeah, its because in his mind saying a third person did it meant he wasn’t legally responsible for what he said. It worked for OJ. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/13 "2026-09-10T06:08:08Z")
Willie hears ya. Willie don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/14 "2026-09-10T07:56:12Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Back before I retired, myself and two others sat near a co worker who was easily annoyed by our conversations. Whereas Wolfpup is annoyed by this use of “myself”. Could you not have just said “I and two others …”. In fact, there’s actually a credible grammatical justification for saying “me and two others …”. It’s a bit of a stretch, but Pinker argues that there’s no grammar rule mandating that the grammatical case of a pronoun within a noun phrase has to match that of the phrase itself. But “myself” is the kind of emphatic pronoun that one associates with something like a CEO memo to all staff, and nowhere else, except for emphasis, as in “I didn’t believe it myself”. But in any event, there is currently abundant evidence – at least from “Truth Social” – that someone who habitually refers to himself in the third person is a demented narcissist. The same sort of narcissist who is constantly regaling us with tales of big men who come to him with tears in their eyes to thank him for his greatness and wisdom. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/15 "2026-09-10T11:20:37Z")
Jimmy’s down!! ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/16 "2026-09-10T11:26:48Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I do when I audibly or sub-audibly talk to myself with nobody around. Like if I’m giving myself a pep talk or chastising myself. I do this as well, but in the second person. As in “You can do this”, or “You’re just about the dumbest asshole in the world.” ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/17 "2026-09-10T11:44:16Z")
Yes, a friend of mine does this sometimes. It’s kind of funny sometimes, but sometimes it’s just annoying. I don’t think I’ve ever talked like that before, it just sounds strange. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/18 "2026-09-10T13:30:17Z")
Gary thinks you put a lot of effort into your reply. 😂 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/19 "2026-09-10T13:33:37Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > > [@robby](#): > > > > I do when I audibly or sub-audibly talk to myself with nobody around. Like if I’m giving myself a pep talk or chastising myself. > > I do this as well, but in the second person. > > As in “You can do this”, or “You’re just about the dumbest asshole in the world.” Whoops, I mixed up [second person and third person](https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/point-of-view-first-second-third-person-difference). I also talk to myself in the second person. Referring to oneself in the third person is weird. 🧐 ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943/20 "2026-09-10T14:35:23Z")
Not exclusively, but probably often enough that people would notice it. I talk about myself all the ways: _“Holy shit, I’m a dumb ass!”_ _“Holy shit, you’re a dumb ass!”_ _“Holy shit, stretch is a dumb ass!”_ And of course, I predict how future stretch will react to situations and wonder what past stretch was thinking all the time. I’m pretty annoying in real life. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-personally-that-refers-to-themselves-in-the-third-person/1032943.md?page=2)