Lifemanship

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The contrived skill of gaining a subtle advantage over other people by petty one-upmanship and psychological tricks in everyday situations
2. A satirical art of winning social or competitive edges over rivals through clever, calculated gamesmanship in ordinary dealings
3. The practice of quietly outmanoeuvring others in daily encounters by using small, deliberate tactics that make one seem superior

Etymology: "Lifemanship" was coined as a joke by the British writer Stephen Potter, who published "Gamesmanship" in 1947 and followed it with "Lifemanship" in 1950. Potter's books taught readers how to win social and sporting encounters through small, mostly dishonest tricks, such as making opponents feel awkward or subtly claiming the moral high ground, and the new word named the broader art of getting the upper hand in everyday life. The word is built from "life," as in everyday living, and the suffix "-ship," which here marks a skill or art, much as "gamesmanship" does. Potter's coinage was deliberately playful, and it has since become a general term for petty one-upmanship.