Oneupmanship. How do you convey this idea?

Question

This is a cultural question, as well as a language one:

How do you convey the idea of ' oneupmanship' in Spanish?

My dictionary ( Collins) says ' El arte de quear siempre por encima' but I'm not sure this is in common use.

I mean, the common desire to do better than the Jones, have a better house, a better car etc. And who are the Jones or the Smiths, in Spanish?

In English they represent the average householder..

Answer 1

From my dictionary.

one-upmanship

El arte de aventajar a otros

Mine says 'quedarse siempre por encima', but neither sounds quite right , to me. - annierats, Dec 22, 2013

Answer 2

For your perusal : This is how we become high-falutin : )

The North American dream is built on "keeping up with the Joneses"

El sueño norteamericano está construido sobre la base de "mantenerse a la par de los Pérez".

ser más listo que Lepe

to be smarter than Lepe

to be very clever

Yes, this was the kind of thing I wanted to know. Los Perez. Thanks! - annierats, Dec 22, 2013