A scoop of criticism with a cherry on top, anyone? Backhanded compliments can be the fiercest of insults. Chances are we've probably all heard them and even served them up at some point or another. I prefer to think that most of this nasty flattery is an accidental result of someone speaking before thinking. But giving our offender the benefit of the doubt doesn't take away the sting of a blindsided burn. So you tell me: What backhanded compliment have you heard or — mean girl alert! — dropped on someone else? Here are a few to get us started:
- You're really filling out.
- I'm so jealous you don't have to wear a bra every day.
- Hey! Your face cleared up!
- If you were taller, you could be a model.
- You look so nice today, I almost didn’t recognize you.
- That tasted better than it looked.
- It's so refreshing to have a conversation with someone who doesn't feel the need to prove they are smart.
- You're smart to do your laundry on Saturday night, when everyone else is out.
- Nice dress. I've seen a lot of girls wearing it, but I think it suits you most.
- You look like a porn star.
Bikkembergs
Oasis
Ben Sherman
How brutal are these, anyway?
1"If you were taller, you could be a model."... yeah, I'm vertically challenged. Don't hate!
someone I haven't seen for a long time wrote on a recent picture of me on faceboook: "wow, you've changed a lot. you look so good!!!!"... geeee... thanks?
2i'm 5"2, and i've gotten the "if you were taller, you could be a model" one a few times -once from my friends mom! we were watching the finale of ANTM with Caridee and Melrose and my friend was like "Mom, doesn't she look like a mix btw. Caridee and Melrose ?" and her mom's like "Yeah, if she grew a foot!" [I was about 5"0 at the time]. I kind of took it as a half compliment, it never really offended me, but i've also gotten the annoying "woww, you look so 'put-together' today! so different." thaaanks.
3"i love your glasses. my mom has the exact same ones!"
note: my glasses are gucci's with black frames and white temples. i get compliments on them all the time! i was mad at this girl for a little while (she's a classmate of mine) but have since realized that she has diarrhea of the mouth.
4i'm often asked how much i weigh or what size i wear. i always answer this question freely. on more than one occasion i've been told "wow, you don't look that fat!"
5hahaha mrs that cracked me up. i think this type of stuff is hilarious when people do it!
my boyfriend said to me the other day, "You're so easily to cuddle even though you're big." I'm 5'10" and 127 lbs, so I think he meant it just because I'm long for a girl, and his exact height, and he's only dated short(er) girls. But, I still gave him a look and said, "Big, eh?"
6i still remember this from jr. high. a gym teacher said to one of my friends "that top ALWAYS looks so cute on you. how many do you have?" wow.
7Patty, I've gotten that one after seeing an old high school acquaintance. She said, "OMG!!! You look so different! You look cool!" Yeah. thanks.
8Ok, listen...I work at a salon, and I swear on EVERYTHING I have heard every single one of these at least ONCE. Seriously, the girls there are so catty...but of course they try to sugar-coat everything while they're doing it. *Sigh* California hair stylists are a piece of work...
9I have people say....wow, you have a LOT of hair. I want to say no sh*t shirlock. I mean, if they only knew what a pain it is and how I don't think that it is a compliment at all.
10If I see someone who I have not seen in awhile and I think they look great, I tell them! I hope no one gets offended....I certainly wouldn't if someone told me that.
I told a girl her hair didn't look any different after she got a haircut.
11At the salon where I used to model hair at shows for the owner -who wasn't there the time- one of the stylists said, "You've got some make-up on today! You look nice!" Ugh.
12I've gotten the "Your face looks clearer!" one before.
13"Wow, you've lost all your baby weight!" My son was 2 at the time, and I'd lost the weight when he was 6 months...
Also, "Your hair looks good (insert long pause) today."
14"If I weren't a lesbian, I'd be all over you"
15I've gotten "you look really good with make up on."
16Or how about: "You clean up nicely." Grrr...
17I get "You've got a big butt for a white girl." Oh, thanks — I've always wanted random people to talk about my arse. Especially nice when it's implied that somehow white people don't have big bottoms but other people do...?!?
18i've gotten the "omg i haven't seen you in forever, you look great" then immediately say "not that you didn't look good to begin with, just saying you look good" haha. yaaaa.
19My grandma is the queen of them: my personal fave was "Oh, wow, you've REALLY lost a lot of weight!" with a big ol' smile.
I also hate the reverse backhanded compliment--my sister can never take one. If you say "hey, you look really cute today," she usually responds with "what, do I look like crap every other day?"
Learn how to take a compliment, girls!
20I've gotten the 'if you were taller you could be a model' one before, but it never really offended me. I'm not short (I'm 5'6"), just not tall enough to be a model.
21haha i get the model one a lot
22Haha Bella! I get the reverse. "You're so lucky you don't have a big butt." I would like a little junk. Guess I gotta do more squats.
23one of my ex-boyfriends told me i could be a chubby model. at the time i was 5'4", 110 lbs. gee, thanks.
24my fiance's mother was coming over, and one of my bras was on the floor. he said "let's hide your enormous brassiere, okay?" and then spent the next ten minutes explaining how "enormous brassiere" is a compliment. ><</p> 25
My grandpa called me handsome, and said I had good birthing hips
...Not quite sure if I should have been offended by that or not
26Wow, ashearer...that is something very difficult to explain away!
Birthing hips! Haha!!
I once got told a whole list of reasons why I could never be a model...”body not long enough”, “something wrong with my face” “breasts too big” (Note: my breasts are a pretty average size, just considered big by the modelling world because they ACTUALLY EXIST.)
27Also note: there is nothing wrong with my face!
28Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.