Boomerasking (noun) (informal)
boo-mer-ask-ing
When someone asks you a question — “How was your vacation?” — but they don’t really care about your response because they just want to answer it themselves.
Coined by Brooks and Yeomans and published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, the term combines the words boomerang and asking into a portmanteau that describes a familiar three-part sequence: (1) Pose a question; (2) let the other person answer; (3) boomerang it right back with your own story!
Example sentences
“Someone just asked about my trip, but they were just boomerasking and then I had to spend ages listening to them talk about their own holiday!”
Gloria Steinem, the writer, journalist and activist whose work helped transform the conversation around women's rights, has died aged 92. "Steinem died peacefully at her home in New York City…
American poet, novelist, essayist and farmer Wendell Berry has died at his home in Port Royal, Kentucky, aged 92. His family announced that Berry died suddenly and peacefully on August…
The hit TV competition show The Traitors returns with a second series of the Celebrity Traitors version in the Autumn. The BBC have recently released a first-look trailer but while…
A new detective drama series from the BBC and BritBox will see three of Britain’s most acclaimed crime writers unite as part of a mysterious society. Set in 1930s London,…
She leaves behind thousands of songs, films, awards, rhinestones, one of the most recognisable voices in popular music and a catalogue that will probably still be playing long after all…
Casting for an upcoming adaptation of David Nicholls’ You Are Here has been announced with big names in British acting among the stars. In this “witty and tender love story”,…
More than 200 booksellers and authors have called on Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to offer independent bookshops the same tax relief as pubs. Maggie O’Farrell, Katherine Rundell, Adam Kay and…
Josh Silver’s critically acclaimed novel, Fruit Fly (2026), has been optioned for a new TV series by A24. The news was announced by the author and DEADLINE magazine. Writing on…
Every year, former U.S. President Barack Obama shares his reading and music recommendations. 2026’s summer reading list features a range of titles in fiction and non-fiction exploring relationships, life, the…