I can think of two who do, to signify tongue in cheek, or Bob’s-your-uncle, or whatever.
Not many more than that.
In the case of one guy, I think it has almost become an involuntary tic (though obviously it did not start as one because it does correlate with his making a point, being sarcastic, etc.).
None, thank goodness. It’s creepy.
Just this guy, thankyouverymuch.
I once temped in an office where the manager (late-20s woman) winked when she teased someone, and I found it really cute. (FWIW, I was a 19-y-o girl at the time.)
It seems like winking has fallen out of fashion, and it’s a shame. It’s charming when done by someone you like. When it’s done by a strange old man…well, I would rather be winked at than whistled at.
I was going to say “None” (thank goodness), but I realized that a woman I work with is a winker. It kind of goes with her (loud, outgoing) personality, but I can live without anyone winking at me.
I work with someone who does this and we all want to strangle him. It’s incredibly condescending, like he’s got some special knowledge that we all lack, when in reality he’s an utter moron. And if he’s winking at me to let me know how cute I am, I think I’ll go kill myself. The fact that he even knows I’m a woman makes me want to throw up.
Maybe it’s not the winking, I’m thinking.
Only a guy I know who has Tourette’s. Which is fine with me - I kind of don’t know what to do when someone winks, unless they’re close enough to elbow and old enough to have watched Monty Python.
Me.
I got it from my dad.
Once a week, I’d wager. Not at everything or everyone.
One. I don’t mind. He’s a joker of a Polack.
My wife and I wink at each other, and and occasionally at The Littlest Briston (who really, really tries to wink back, but instead does this weird/adorable smoosh-up-half-her-face thing). That’s it – no one else is deserving of our winks!
You mean isn’t an exaggeration? Some people actually use that in real conversation?
Just one, a woman in my former office. Somehow it fits her. She’s a bit of a flirt.
Winks seem so cool when done properly, so rogue-ish. That said, I don’t know anyone in real life who can do it without seeming like a creepazoid.
I know one guy at work who does it, and it is absolutely perfect. No trace of creepiness–it’s more like it’s conspiratorial, a secret between you and him. He’s so good that it took me a full day with him before I even realized what he was doing, and how I can’t imagine it working with anyone else. Mmmmm!
There’s one woman in the office where I work who does it ALL THE TIME. At first it was kind of cute, but after an hour of conversing with her the winking just got plain annoying. I kept wanting to ask her if she had something in her eye, or perhaps if she had some sort of facial spasm or tick that I wasn’t aware of.
Fortunately I don’t have to work with her any more.
Almost everybody I meet, it seems.
Oh – sorry – wInks, is it?
Never mind.
We now interrupt this thread…
From the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (radio)
…And now back to your regularly scheduled thread
There is a non verbal greeting used among older men in my village. It is a rather complicated combination of a wink, a smirk and a sharp sweep of the head. (sort of a horizontal nod). It seems to be used when passing at some distance where conversation is not likely to ensue.
I think I might have seen it from Maine to Newfoundland but I’m not sure.
I associate it with fisherfolk.
Okay, now I’m wondering if I should stop. I wink the odd time to indicate my comment should be taken light-heartedly. I use it the way we use emoticons here. Uh, I don’t think I do it that often - perhaps I’ll poll my staff.
It never occurred to me that it might be creepy, weird, or annoying. Huh.
