Trim the hedges! Okay. If you insist.
When I was in the Army, I discovered that the best way at to get even with incompetent NCOs was to follow their orders exactly as stated. This would follow with, “that’s not what I wanted you to do!”
That’s what you told me.
“But that’s not what I meant!”
Eventually, they’d leave me alone.
Onward to the malicious compliance. While assigned to Germany, we lived in an apartment provided by the post. In the summer, mowing the lawn rotated among the apartments. When it was my turn, they decided that the hedges needed to be trimmed. They were VERY overgrown. I pointed out that apparently no one else had been trimming them, as they were about 6’ tall and growing wild. They said, “too bad. It’s your turn. You have to do it.”
I did. I trimmed them to about 12 inches from the ground. When I was questioned later, I said, “you told me to trim them. I did.”
I wasn’t required to trim them again. Then again, after 2 summers, I don’t think they needed it.