What are some backhanded compliments that are very subtle?
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In the south, it’s considered a polite way to say “go fuck yourself”
My experience is it's used as "go fuck yourself" when it's coming from strangers or people trying to place themselves as superior.
In more familiar relationships, it can also can be used to express sympathy (especially about pain or difficult circumstances), as thanks, or to communicate you've misunderstood something (but it's okay that you did). -
Everything anyone said about you is too kind.
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The only one I've ever pulled off on the spur of a moment unintentionally is when my asshole stepdad broke his foot and I ended up casually quipping to him, "you gotta work hard in order to get a leg up in the world".
I also just remembered that I later told him he's got to put his foot down on some issue his job was complaining about.
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It may be backhanded or not
I think it's backhanded because it implies that the person doesn't usually look good any other day.
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Very nice.
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You too? Haven't been able to edit for a couple of weeks. I think it has to do with a ban on some comm.
I can be more than a little annoying at times. Wouldn't surprise me if this was the reason lol
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I bet you're fun at parties.
Why do you assume that the person advocating to not be an asshole wouldn't be fun at parties?
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I may need to say something that is (seemingly) nice about someone, but I’d prefer it be very subtly backhanded or nearly believable hyperbole.
Edit: I realized that I was imagining something like how the Colbert Report was done where it’s easy to believe I’m agreeing when really I’m spoofing.Well, not terribly subtle, but if you are fighting with your spouse and they complain that you never say anything nice about their family, you can respond with:
"Well, I have to say that your in-laws are better than my in-laws"
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Why do you assume that the person advocating to not be an asshole wouldn't be fun at parties?
you poor sweet thing. you might be the brightest crayon in the box but that blunt tip makes it hard to stay in the lines. (I mean this in the most positive way. not all crayons are perfect, and they don't need to be)
I'll spoon feed it to you.
they responded to a post asking for backhanded compliments by outright calling OP an asshole for asking for backhanded compliments and had the audacity to not even provide what OP asked for.
I then took the opportunity to provide a tongue-in-cheek response that was a backhanded compliment and an appropriate response to someone who completely ignored the the whole point of the post.
what they did was akin to walking up to a conversation between people at a party, interjecting when they felt offended by the content that they involved themselves in, and calling everyone an asshole.
what an asshole thing to do, right?
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Why do you assume that the person advocating to not be an asshole wouldn't be fun at parties?
you poor sweet thing. you might be the brightest crayon in the box but that blunt tip makes it hard to stay in the lines. (I mean this in the most positive way. not all crayons are perfect, and they don't need to be)
I'll spoon feed it to you.
you responded to a post asking for backhanded compliments by outright calling OP an asshole for asking for backhanded compliments and had the audacity to not even provide what OP asked for.
I then took the opportunity to provide a tongue-in-cheek response that was a backhanded compliment and an appropriate response to someone who completely ignored the the whole point of the post.
what you did was akin to walking up to a conversation between people at a party, interjecting when you felt offended by the content that you involved yourself in, and called everyone an asshole.
what an asshole thing to do, right?
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you poor sweet thing. you might be the brightest crayon in the box but that blunt tip makes it hard to stay in the lines. (I mean this in the most positive way. not all crayons are perfect, and they don't need to be)
I'll spoon feed it to you.
you responded to a post asking for backhanded compliments by outright calling OP an asshole for asking for backhanded compliments and had the audacity to not even provide what OP asked for.
I then took the opportunity to provide a tongue-in-cheek response that was a backhanded compliment and an appropriate response to someone who completely ignored the the whole point of the post.
what you did was akin to walking up to a conversation between people at a party, interjecting when you felt offended by the content that you involved yourself in, and called everyone an asshole.
what an asshole thing to do, right?
wrote last edited by [email protected]I suggest that in the future you save the condescension for the end, not the start, if you want the recipient to actually finish reading your message.
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I suggest that in the future you save the condescension for the end, not the start, if you want the recipient to actually finish reading your message.
couldn't care less if you read it or not.
you asked for me to explain myself, I did.
read it. don't read it.
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"I've never heard anyone express an option like that out loud before."
"What a unique approach to the problem!"
"I bet you played football in highschool, right?"
"Has anyone ever told you that you'd look good in a uniform?"
It's a good thing you're pretty.
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(i subtlety downvoted you)
And misspelled "subtly"? You're really typing with both fists today!
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I may need to say something that is (seemingly) nice about someone, but I’d prefer it be very subtly backhanded or nearly believable hyperbole.
Edit: I realized that I was imagining something like how the Colbert Report was done where it’s easy to believe I’m agreeing when really I’m spoofing.You're excused
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I may need to say something that is (seemingly) nice about someone, but I’d prefer it be very subtly backhanded or nearly believable hyperbole.
Edit: I realized that I was imagining something like how the Colbert Report was done where it’s easy to believe I’m agreeing when really I’m spoofing.wrote last edited by [email protected]This works only in Dutch. I used to work in the service industry, where every now and then you'd have rude or ungrateful people.
In Dutch, the formal way of saying 'thank you' is 'Dank u', but that's very close in pronunciation to French 'dans cul', meaning 'in the ass'.
So with people I secretly loathed I would thank them with an ever so slight French twang.
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This works only in Dutch. I used to work in the service industry, where every now and then you'd have rude or ungrateful people.
In Dutch, the formal way of saying 'thank you' is 'Dank u', but that's very close in pronunciation to French 'dans cul', meaning 'in the ass'.
So with people I secretly loathed I would thank them with an ever so slight French twang.
that’s great
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You can express your views about these people in a dispassionate manner as well. It’s not a choice between being a dick about it or agreeing with them. Nothing good comes from passive aggression. You’d probably consider that toxic too if it were directed at you or your opinions.
If you don't say anything, they assume you agree with them. It's a fine line between letting them know you (maybe respectfully) disagree, vs. actively debating, but in some cases I think it's worthwhile to try to let them know you aren't inside their bubble. Agree outright dickishness is unhelpful, but so much depends on the specifics of the relationship and circumstances of delivery.
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You're at the top of the bell curve!
The best part is that it isn't really an insult.
Statistically speaking, any given person is most likely to be near the peak of the bell curve of a given thing.
Someone being offended by it means that they think they're above average, and you think they're average. There's nothing wrong with being average...most people are.
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You seem like management material.
Try to channel your best Ron Swanson while saying it.
