back-seat driver
1
5.3
- noun
- /ˈbækˌsiːt ˈdraɪvər/
- Offensive
:
entrometido
- During the meeting, Tom became a back-seat driver by suggesting changes that the team had not asked for.
Examples
-
Don't be such a back-seat driver!
-
She didn't want to be a back-seat driver, but she couldn't help offering advice on how to handle the project.
-
He doesn't drive himself, but he's the worst back-seat driver I've ever met.
-
I know you're trying to help, but please don't be a back-seat driver.
-
My mother is a notorious back-seat driver who always has something to say during our trips.
-
My friend is a back-seat driver!
-
Even though he was just a passenger, he acted like a back-seat driver by constantly commenting on my driving.
Synonyms
1
4.4
A person who gives unwanted advice to the driver
Antonyms
How Controlling
- Offensive
35
5.8
2
6.8
- Offensive
1
5.3
- US
271
2.8
305
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
back-seat + driver
The sense is directly inferable from combining 'back seat' (the rear passenger position) with 'driver' (one who controls or directs): it denotes someone who tries to direct or control from the back seat. This spatial-to-control meaning is a transparent, predictable compounding/metaphor in English and is likely clear to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
The noun back-seat driver comes from the literal image of someone sitting in the back seat and telling the driver how to drive. That's why it now means 'someone who gives unwanted advice or tries to control what another person is doing'.