Sometimes the problem with telling people directly to go f#¤%& themselves, while ot might be a very appropriate measure in light of the type of person and their way of getting in your face, might well be that it might not be so appropriate when you are with a group of people ar when this other person is in a position of being able to retaliate in a way that you would rather not have to deal with.

Often these folks play this game when you both are around people who aren't aware of the history between you, so if you react like that, then you come off looking like a complete jerk, even if you have every rght to tell these guys to eat the bird. The other folks might be people you will have to deal with later, and that might not be a reputation you want. If the praise hunter is someone who can really make your life miserable, this is something you have to think about too.

In both cases, I learned to give what we call in the business as "minimal reinforcement", in other words you kind of nod, give minimal eye contact and say, "yeah, uh huh, yeah, cool, yeah, uh huh," and change the topic, ask someone else there where they got that WONDERFUL shirt, etc. Pleasant, bland, not a direct declaration of war but not rewarding. After bit, because she's not getting fed, she'll go away. If she persists, then IN PRIVATE , if she isn't in a position to get back at you, or it won't bother you, tell her to hit the road. You don't want to cut your own nose off to get at her. HUGGGS and good luck. Those folks are hard to deal with.