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Back handed compliments

(86 Posts)
MissAdventure Tue 24-Jan-17 13:41:17

You know the kind..
When I went to answer a buzzer in an old folks home I was working in, the man said "Oh, thank God it's you! I was worried it might be some dollybird!"

Jane10 Sat 28-Jan-17 18:50:59

MissAdventure oh yes I've looked because I've always wondered. Granny didn't believe in compliments or praise in case it went to anyone's head. No chance!

sunseeker Sat 28-Jan-17 15:36:14

When I first took my boyfriend home to meet my parents (he later became my DH) my mother said that she was surprised we were together because he was such a good looking boy!

annodomini Sat 28-Jan-17 14:58:34

When I whinged about my weight, my mother usually answered:'But you're very neat'.

MissAdventure Sat 28-Jan-17 14:25:26

How funny! grin have you looked at your legs on occasion since then, trying to work out which one is better?

Jane10 Sat 28-Jan-17 14:00:40

My dear Grandmother once looked me up and down and said 'At least you've got one good leg.' To make it worse she wouldn't tell me which one it was!

hereshoping Sat 28-Jan-17 10:18:03

Some years ago after I'd been on a successful diet I was trying on a new swimsuit.
My DD looked at me adoringly and said 'You look lovely, mummy, just like Ma Larkin' (from Darling Buds of May)

kittylester Fri 27-Jan-17 16:31:50

My mum told me, amongst lots of other things, 'you do look nice when you make an effort!'

MissAdventure Fri 27-Jan-17 14:03:01

smile

Jayh Fri 27-Jan-17 13:30:32

A friend, looking at her husband of many years walking up the drive in his motorbike leathers said,
" If I didn't know it was him I would fancy that"

MissAdventure Fri 27-Jan-17 11:58:19

I loved the 'sofa thighs' compliment! grin

grannypiper Fri 27-Jan-17 11:49:59

annifrance im sur the little one meant a lovely soft velour sofa and not a dried out & cracked old leather sofa grin

Aslemma Fri 27-Jan-17 11:47:19

Some years ago I was walking to the shops with my two grandsons. The younger one was racing ahead so I said "Slow down darling, Grandma's getting old." The little darling replied "You're not old Grandma, you only look it." I should add I was only in my 60s!

NonnaW Fri 27-Jan-17 09:45:49

My SiL, when I showed her some earrings I'd bought on holiday, said "I can't wear anything like that, they make me feel tarty". Ever afterwards, DH & I referred to them as my tarty earrings.

nancan Thu 26-Jan-17 22:16:44

New shoes I asked "oh yes, but they're only for walking in"

annodomini Thu 26-Jan-17 20:22:11

I was talking to a class of day-release students about shopping on a budget and happened to mention Oxfam. After a short pause, one of them looked at the dress I was wearing and said, 'Have you been to Oxfam recently miss?'
As it happened it was a gloomy looking dress my mother had palmed off on me because it didn't suit her. Guess where I took that dress!

1happysoul Thu 26-Jan-17 19:45:55

My mother in law at my daughters wedding said to me " I always knew you could look nice"!

Falconbird Thu 26-Jan-17 19:26:12

Oops that should read neck not nick. smile

Falconbird Thu 26-Jan-17 19:25:17

A friend said to me "If I ever had my ears pierced, which I never would, I'd wear ear rings like yours."

She also said "Your garden would be nice if it wasn't for those weeds under that spindly tree."

Another friend said that I had lost weight on my diet and the jowly bits on my nick were less noticeable.

Maggiemaybe Thu 26-Jan-17 19:06:20

My DD1, travelling with a singles group, had the youngest member - 18 year old - compliment her on how good she looks for someone twice her age. Followed with "gee, I guess I'll be 36 one day". Not if you keep talking like that, thought DD1 ominously.

Juggernaut Thu 26-Jan-17 18:51:19

I had many years of total strangers saying "Your mum's beautiful, it's shame you look so like your dad"!
My aunt once said "I love the style of your hair, but hate the colour you've got it"....the colour was natural!

hulahoop Thu 26-Jan-17 18:46:20

What a great topic I have been chuckling to myself .
When my oh was in his early 20s sold a teenager a motorbike the lad asked him did you do a lot of riding when you were young ?

MissAdventure Thu 26-Jan-17 18:38:42

F77ms,
We're all funny ladies - every one of these has given me a laugh! grin

Battersea1971 Thu 26-Jan-17 17:56:17

A friend said to me recently "I had a coat like that, but I've given it to the charity shop"

GrannyRose Thu 26-Jan-17 17:31:42

With a group of friends, all in our 60s, I help run a popular village toddler group. "We love coming here" said one mother. "In my country, old people don't do anything!" (She comes from Rumania.....)We took it as a compliment!

Maggiemaybe Thu 26-Jan-17 17:22:03

My dad honestly thought he was handing out a compliment when he told my sister and me that the women in the family had all the brains, and the men all the looks hmm