“She claims to be all about honesty and integrity? What a hypocrite!”

English Lesson: She claims to be all about honesty and integrity? What a hypocrite!

There's a politician that you don't like at all. This politician says that she is truthful in her campaign commercials, but you think she lies about a lot of things. You saw a new commercial from her, and you comment on it on a social networking site.

She claims to be all about honesty and integrity? What a hypocrite!

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(someone) claims to (do/be something)

Use "claim to ___" when you want to tell what a person said, but you also want to suggest that you don't believe them, or don't know if what they said is true. For example:

I once knew a guy who claimed to be able to remember every telephone number he'd ever called.

There are two different patterns that people use "claim" in. One is "claim that ___", and the other is "claim to ___":

They claimed to be police officers, so I let them in.

They claimed that they were police officers, so I let them in.

(someone) is a hypocrite

A "hypocrite" is someone who loudly pretends to be good, but secretly does bad things. Or someone who does the same bad things that they criticize others for.

For example, a preacher who teaches his congregation not to chase after money, but actually lives in an expensive house and drives a luxury car himself, is a hypocrite.

Another example is a parent who tells her teenage daughter not to smoke, but is secretly a smoker herself.

Politicians, religious leaders, parents, and teachers are often accused of being hypocrites.

(someone) is all about (something)

You can describe a philosophy that someone often talks about and emphasizes this way:

Mom and Dad were all about me going to college and studying medicine, even when I was just a little girl.

The marines are all about respect and loyalty.

You can also use "all about ___" to talk about something that you're strongly interested in, or something that you concentrate on:

These days, I'm all about cutting loose and enjoying myself.

honesty and integrity

"Honesty" means telling the truth. "Integrity" is a more general kind of honesty. It means doing the right thing and following a set of moral rules.

These words often appear together in the phrase "honesty and integrity". This phrase is common in formal speeches, like political speeches or school ceremonies.