Rodney

I don't know about prick, but there are certain people he doesn't care to look bad in front of, mainly peers, so he sometimes explains away embarassing things by making it your fault, _if_ you're not around.

My dad never blamed me for anything he did, but sometimes he took the credit in front of his friends for things he never did for me. Like, I was in a sports league and hadn't done well at first, but then started to do better. Heard him talking to a friend about it on the phone, and he made it sound like he'd been responsible. He hadn't been involved at all.

In short, your dad hasn't completely grown up (few of us do). Somewhat like my dad, he's still the kid who exaggerates all the cool stuff he did when telling his friends (when he can get away with it), and explains away his screwups as somebody else's fault to deflect the blame. You've met guys your age who do that, right? Well, your dad never quite got past that stage, although he might be vulnerable in other ways. In front of people he wants to impress or is a little wary of, he tries to make himself look good. Sometimes it's at your expense.