Complimenting a person is one of the fastest ways into their heart. However, delivery matters because as you're about to see, the line between making someone smile and getting punched in the face can be just a couple of words.
Recently, Redditor u/shamilat made a post on the platform, asking other users: "What's a compliment and an insult at the same time?" And people immediately started sending in their suggestions.
Whether the phrases were coming from personal experiences or imagination, these one-liners have to be some of the most ambiguous things you can say!
#1
Back in the 1980s, New Zealand's prime minister said that anyone who chose to emigrate from New Zealand to Australia could be proud that they were raising the average IQ of both countries.
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341points
#2
“You’re really smart for someone with your job” (I’m a professional dogwalker)
Dude, just because I choose to do this work doesn’t mean I couldn’t do something else. I just love this and followed my passion.
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231points
#6
I always get "Wow, we used to think you were a real b***h but you're actually really nice!" from friends at some point. It makes me so sad that I'm a naturally shy person around a new group of people. It makes me so self-conscious when I meet new people because I know that line and it's variants will eventually be said again.
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163points
#11
I love when I wear makeup and people say “Did you get a good nights sleep? You don’t look tired today!”
Doesn’t matter how much or how little sleep I get, I always have very dark circles under my eyes. It’s genetic.
So no, I’m not tired… That’s literally just my face.
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140points
#12
I got a "you're looking pretty good for a guy in their 40's". Well, thats nice i guess, but I was 35 at the time.
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134points
#15
"You're very beautiful for your age." or "I can tell you were beautiful when you were younger."
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116points
#16
"I can see that you're trying."
(When someone shows you something they worked hard on, and it's the only positive thing you can think of to say.)
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115points
#17
"You speak English so well." Yeah, because it's my native language.
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105points
#18
"Are you twins??? " Said the cashier to me and my brother... who's 12 years older than me...
Edit: of course my brother took it as a compliment... that little-
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97points
#20
There’s the classic, “I don’t care what they say about you, you’re alright.”
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88points