On the surface, some compliments seem sweet but when you really think about it, they aren’t as kind as they appear.
User newworldlife on Reddit asked, “What is a compliment that actually feels like an insult?”
Here are those backhanded remarks that leave you wondering if you were really complimented or just subtly insulted.
1.
“Just add the word, ‘actually,’ in the middle of a compliment: ‘you actually look good in that shirt.'”
2.
“‘You look so good! I almost didn’t recognize you!’ Like… excuse me?? So I looked what before?? A swamp creature?”
3.
“‘I love that for you!’ I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean but it sounds condescending AF.”
5.
“(Insert any compliment at all) ‘…for a girl.’”
6.
“‘I love how you don’t care what anybody thinks about you!'”
7.
“‘Wow, you’re smarter than you look!’ EXCUSE ME!?”
8.
“‘You look good for your age.'”
9.
“‘You’ve been looking better recently… did you lose weight?'”
10.
“‘You look less tired than usual.’ – thanks, I guess?”
11.
“‘They’re a free spirit./They march to the beat of their own drum.'”
12.
“‘You’d be so pretty if you just smiled more.'”
13.
“‘Your confidence is remarkable; it takes guts to be that different!'”
14.
“”Nice haircut! Did you do it yourself?'”
15.
“‘You look like your dad.'”
16.
“When they add ‘today’ at the end of the compliment. Like ‘you look great, today.'”
17.
“‘I don’t like a guy with too much muscle, you are perfect!'”
18.
“‘You haven’t changed one bit!'”
19.
“‘You look so comfy’.… I never know what to say to this lol, maybe it is an insult?”
20.
“‘You’ve helped me learn to be patient.'”
21.
“’Well aren’t you clever!’ Like it’s a surprise?”
22.
“‘I WISH I had the confidence to wear something like that.’ Or just, ‘I WISH I had your confidence.’ Meanwhile, you’re just existing.”
23.
“Oh man, I’ve gotten lots. My most common one is that I am ‘unconventionally attractive.’ Never know if I should feel complimented or offended after that.”
24.
“‘The man who marries you in the future is so lucky.’ (Nooo I don’t even want a husband! It sounds like my highest value is being a good wife…”
26.
“‘You’re so tall! Do you play basketball?’ No. And don’t give me that look of disapproval when I say it either. It’s a pet peeve of mine for sure. People love to compliment my height but it’s always stupid stereotypes or garbage small talk.”
27.
“‘You’re just so valuable in your role we don’t think advancement is the best choice at this time.'”
28.
And finally, “A coworker once said to a 50+ lady: ‘I bet you were super beautiful when you were young.’ What he meant is that she was still beautiful at over 50 so imagine her at 25. What she heard is that she’s old and no longer beautiful.”
Have you been at the receiving end of these “compliments?” Are there any that you would add? Let us know in the comments!