Back-handed compliments

[thikasabrik]

What is the worst back-handed compliment you have had? I'll start the ball rolling: at a recent posh 'do' I had my best frock on and had my hair up. A friend approached me from behind and when we came face to face she said "Oh, it's you. I didn't recognize you because you look really sexy from behind."

[katejess44]

What immediately sprung to my mind was an occasion at work, when a temp was idly chatting away about the trials and tribulations of finding herself a fella. 

Now, I know I am no oil painting, but she kept talking to me as though I didn't have a hope meeting a man if she couldn't find anyone! In the end my colleague had had enough and blurted out to her, 'she is married you know', at which point this girls eyes widened, she came over to me, rested a hand on my shoulder, and with the most earnest expression said to me, 'Well done!'

I could have lumped her one!

[katejess44]

Oh, and another - when I started wearing glasses, some git came up to me and said, 'Ooh, you look really intelligent now!'

Bah humbug!

[Ouisch]

Poor Kate and Thik...I can feel your pain!

I know I've had much worse handed my way, but the only one that springs to mind at the moment is a co-worker telling us all about some movie he'd seen over the week-end.  How weird and strange it was, and how only degenerates would find it appealing.  Later on in his description he turned to me and said "it's the kind of movie you would like!"

[Robinia]

Many years ago I'd been very ill & was extremely thin, therefore the only clothes I wore for a while were track suits (well it was the 80's!).  Finally I regained enough weight to wear a normal top & skirt without them dropping off me!  When I arrived at the hospital feeling pretty confident at last my doctor, whose English could be somewhat inaccurate at times, looked me up & down and said 'Mmm, I see you're back in your old clothes'.

Thanks doc....!

[JohnPPotts]

I've been told by a friend (and flat mate) that I'm "So uncool it's cool!" Better than somebody else who once told me "No offence, but you're F**k ugly!" (the "no offence" really softened that one!).

[Peter Pedant]

Oh Peter, I needed someone to write a bit on this obscure aspect of obesity - so I googled the subject and I couldnt believe it -your name came up!

[Peter Pedant]

Oh Peter, I'm holding a dinner party and some people can't come.

Oh so I 'm top of the second division?

Well yes actually - wednesday night......

[Dark Angel]

When doing a TESOL course about 18 months ago, the coursework included teaching practice, where you are evaluated on drilling, initiating class participation, clarity of instructions etc.

At the end of TP there's peer evaluation, and one lady (she was quite sweet really) said that I generated a lot of interaction in the group, when I gave them  an assignment, because my instructions were vague, therefore the students were asking each other "what do we do now?"!!!

[Xollob]

Less of a compliment, more of a back-handed perfectly ligitimate question...

I am, as they say, "big boned". In a department store recently, another customer came up to me and, in a rather embarassed fashion, asked me: "Don't take this the wrong way, but, er, could you tell me what size you are? My brother is also ... er ... it's his birthday next week ..."

[Alixw]

Not about me,but my Mum. My Great Nan (95 and counting!) isn't one for subtleties or compliments. While out for a family meal - she was telling us about this raunchy film she had been wtching the night before. (why she was watching it I don't know!) She started to describe the what the prositutes in the film had been  wearing - and then said to my mum ' they actually reminded me of you!!'

Oh the look on her face was a picture!!!

[ali_alic]

How about the well know northern saying "you don't sweat much for a fat lass"

I'm actually quite slim which doesn't go down well in the North Yorkshire fishing village I was born in.  No good to do the manual labour that is required, however, I do remember my Uncle describing me as "nowt but a whippet with lipstick on". 

[thikasabrik]

ali_alic

 

I'm also quite slim, live in a North Yorkshire fishing village and have an offensive uncle! (He called me 'scrag-end').

Are you my secret twin????????

[hobsonbear]

a handsome, sexy guy came up to me at work and said "you look" (sexy? pretty?) "really tired"! 

a guy that found out from my mates that i liked fishing and cooking asked me "can you cook trout?".  he now maintains he said "can you cook you old trout?"  we are now married!

h

[Darjeeling]

I was chatting away to a goregeous lad I'd met and we were busy discussing different issues when suddenly he said "you're not as stupid as you look".  I think my glare made him nervous and he then said "honestly I like talking to you, you're more like a lad than a girl".

[David H]

I went on a blind date last Sunday, and got what may have been the most useless statement ever as a personal observation, when she told me 'You're average looking'. Now what's someone supposed to do with a piece of information like that? I suppose the nearest thing is being given a 5p tip...

[ermintrude35]

..." how old are you ?"...

.."I'm 36"..

..."oh my god 36! ..oh my, you dont look 36, you look so much younger"...

(pause for me to bask is smugness at all the moisturising I did since the age of 14 had paid off)

***warning false sence of security alert***

...here it comes....

..." 36?...god thats really ancient innit? I never realised you were that old before...sorry..."

[FP]

When my son was four I bought a lovely pink swimsuit with little black spots and a frill (fashionable in the 80's).  I put it on to show him and he was very impressed and said I looked really nice.  A few days later he asked (in company) 'Mummy when are you going to wear your lovely pink elephant swimsuit'

[EskimoFriend]

I chanced upon this site while googling and could not pass by without adding my own worst backhanded complement: a guy I was going out with once told me I had 'potential' to be hot. Go figure. I was kind of confused at the time and didn't realise how offended I should have been until it was too late to punch him or dump him (the latter having been already done).