# Compliments that make you wonder **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916 "2024-03-16T15:46:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/21 "2024-03-17T00:43:05Z")
After DIL gave birth to twins she was out alone after about 2 months and someone asked her when her baby was due. Going by her histrionics about it I assumed she did not feel complimented, at all. (She did lose the extra weight) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/22 "2024-03-17T09:40:32Z")
Your glasses make you look smart. Uhh… OK. Thanks? (back when I used to wear glasses) ---
**Author:** ![TXRebel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@TXRebel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TXRebel)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/23 "2024-03-17T13:18:13Z")
I absolutely cringe when I remember this but in my callow youth I asked someone what they actually did with a liberal arts degree. I’ve never seen that person again but I wish I could so I could apologize. I think compliments are amazing if they are heartfelt. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/24 "2024-03-17T15:57:18Z")
Mama Plant told me, “You don’t stink so much since you quit smoking”. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Ducky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrs_ducky/32/6227_2.png) [@Mrs\_Ducky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Ducky)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/25 "2024-03-17T21:39:30Z")
Somebody told me that once, and my reply was “What little hair you have left has dandruff in it.” The look on his face was priceless! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/26 "2024-03-17T22:03:22Z")
I have a kind of eclectic style of dress that sometimes elicits compliments. One co-worker looked at my outfit and said “only WOOK could pull that off”. Would that be in the same way that only Sideshow Bob could pull of that hair? 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/27 "2024-03-17T22:27:31Z")
I first encountered it in the _Viz_ comic - a character named Sid the Sexist, who exclaimed "Tha divent sweat much for a fat lass!’ ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/28 "2024-03-18T03:09:20Z")
I have a whole collection of these I’ve heard (and been subjected to) over the years. My absolute all-time favorite was my mother-in-law upon meeting her son’s soon-to-be third wife. “Oh, you’re lovely! Much prettier than the other two.” I was about to begin a minor home improvement project, and my wife hit me with her own version of an affirmation. “I’m sure it will be the very best you can do.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/29 "2024-03-18T03:38:24Z")
> You smell better than usual. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/30 "2024-03-18T06:54:05Z")
I often tell my little brother (who’s nuts, btw) “For the black sheep of the family you sure are a good brother!” He takes it well. As in, he’s never punched me. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/31 "2024-03-18T10:31:32Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > “Oh, you’re lovely! Much prettier than the other two.” Hahaaha. Yeah, i had a Father in Law that was very sweet and honest (he’s since passed away). Got him in trouble a lot. My (now) wife and I flew to her hometown so I could meet her parents. Conversationaly I ask my FIL to be if he had any trouble getting to the airport - FIL: “No, and I haven’t been here since (wifes name) brought that other guy home” 🤦‍♂️ “What, what did I say?” I knew I was gonna like this guy. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/32 "2024-03-18T11:52:43Z")
> [@TXRebel](#): > > I absolutely cringe when I remember this but in my callow youth I asked someone what they actually did with a liberal arts degree. I’ve never seen that person again but I wish I could so I could apologize. I think compliments are amazing if they are heartfelt. That doesn’t seem so bad to me. I know what I do with my mechanical engineering degree, and my background there gives me some sense of what other types of engineers do with their engineering degree. But “liberal arts” is such a general and abstract description and so far from my own area of expertise that without more info, I just have no idea what kind of work someone with an LA degree does. Is it rude to be curious? > [@SuntanLotion](#): > > This hasn’t happened to me but did anyone ever get "I hope I look as good as you when I’m your age? I’d be proud if someone said that to me. I read an article today pointing out that **[Rob Lowe is now 60](https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/17/entertainment/rob-lowe-60th-birthday/index.html)**, and I had exactly that thought: when I hit 60, I hope I look as good as he does (I won’t). ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/33 "2024-03-18T12:49:44Z")
Back in the 80s there was a little dive bar in Detroit that some college buddies had started hanging out at. It was also a hangout for Vietnam vets. I got in the habit of going for a couple beers and a few games of pool every Thursday night. The vets, a generation older than us and pretty wild, were all characters. I had a pretty decent pool game, but they were all insanely good. I could often beat my college buddies, but very rarely the vets. One time I was playing a game with a vet, an enormous, maybe 6 foot 5 biker-looking guy with a long beard who was very intimidating. I had my best game face on and almost, but not quite, beat the guy, finishing with a long green across the table shot and a very difficult bank-combo that I both made before I missed and he took over and put the 8-ball away. After he won he came up to me and said “you know what, when we started the game I thought ‘who is this scrawny little dorky-looking pipsqueak to challenge _ **me** _ to a game?’ But I have to hand it to you-- you really stepped up and made a couple amazing shots. There’s more to you than I thought. I gotta say…” “…you’re a real Sonny Bono!” ---
**Author:** ![brasstacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d26b3c/32.png) [@brasstacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brasstacks)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/34 "2024-03-18T12:56:44Z")
[Well, aren’t you looking intelligent today.](https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2019-09/26/20/asset/1aec85e12717/sub-buzz-1962-1569529763-1.jpg?downsize=600:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/35 "2024-03-18T13:51:57Z")
> [@TXRebel](#): > > in my callow youth I asked someone what they actually did with a liberal arts degree. As @Machine_Elf says, not in itself a particularly rude or embarrassing question. As a graduate of a school with a [unique classical liberal arts program](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_College_(Annapolis/Santa_Fe)), we use to joke that our degree qualified us to be bartenders. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/36 "2024-03-18T14:56:56Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > I was recently complimented, told I was intelligent and enlightened despite not having higher education. Interesting. I’ve often commented that people were intelligent and enlightened despite having a higher education. I was usually lying though. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/37 "2024-03-18T21:18:53Z")
_your hair looks nice today - did you wash it?_ or one that I actually use (among good friends) … _congrats on getting rid of your fungal problem_ ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/38 "2024-03-18T22:31:48Z")
See, this is why I’m hesitant to hand out compliments. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/39 "2024-03-19T21:53:21Z")
“Others may say you are not fit to live with pigs, but I think you are!” ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916/40 "2024-03-20T18:16:39Z")
Two probably pointless anecdotes: Someone on this board once told me, in our (so far) only meeting in person, and in front of others, that I wasn’t anything like he thought I would be (presumably this was based on my posting here). No elaboration or further comment. My husband, waaaay back the first time we had a close personal encounter, said “You don’t smell!” Considering he is Japanese, the way he said it, and the fact that I knew it to be true\*, I took it as a compliment. In my patented ironic style, I said “Thanks, neither do you.” It was ironic because he was wearing a nice cologne. \*I had, after all, recently showered, as one does in such situations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compliments-that-make-you-wonder/998916.md?page=3)