# The worst thing someone could say about you to your face **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720 "2010-11-15T08:55:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/21 "2010-11-17T07:04:31Z")
Worst that someone could say? (But never has) “You’ve wasted your talent. You’ve wasted your life.” Worst that someone actually did say? (Not counting assholes at grade school or various heated arguments with people) “You’re just overhead.” That was my boss, giving me a pep talk. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/22 "2010-11-17T08:40:33Z")
Me: I have an appointment with Dr. \_\_\_\_\_. I think I’m pregnant. Husband of 8 years, father of our two children: Who’s the father? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/23 "2010-11-17T08:43:49Z")
Being called “untrustworthy” could send me straight into the ER, specifically being told “no tienes palabra” or “no eres persona de palabra” - what you say can’t be believed, your word is worthless. Has anybody published an article on an actual brain explosion yet? Because it might happen. I do play with language (always with the understanding that the people I’m speaking with is part of the same game, we’re all playing) and I can certainly make mistakes or choose the wrong word, but purposefully twist words and make promises I have never intended to keep? No, and that is what the expression means. > [@Malthus](#): > > “I wish you were not my child” has to rank pretty high. Ah, see, I _have_ been told something like that: “you’re not the child I wanted, I’ve never wanted/loved you”. So it isn’t in my list of “things I hope never to hear”, but rather in the list of “things I wish I’d never heard”. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/24 "2010-11-17T11:51:16Z")
As an ex-Marine, the worst thing anyone could have said to me would be, “I wouldn’t trust him to watch my back in a firefight”. No one ever said it, and I certainly hope no one felt that way about me, but sadly, there were several people in my unit I felt that way about, including my immediate superior. It’s the worst thing you can say about anyone in the military. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/25 "2010-11-17T16:34:30Z")
> [@thirdwarning](#): > > Me: I have an appointment with Dr. \_\_\_\_\_. I think I’m pregnant. > > Husband of 8 years, father of our two children: Who’s the father? See, I would say this in jest, but he was serious? That’s a horrible thing to say. ---
**Author:** ![Jelly\_Roll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Jelly\_Roll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelly_Roll)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/26 "2010-11-17T18:08:33Z")
The worst thing someone \*could \*say to me is that I’m a failure as a mother. Like a lot of moms I know, I live in fear that I’m somehow ruining my child on a daily basis. To have someone actually confirm it, though, would be too much. The worst thing that has \*actually \*been said to me was when my mom told me that if she and my dad got divorced it would be my fault. That was said to me when I was 18 and it still stings to recall. They didn’t get divorced, although there have been days when I wish they would have. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/27 "2010-11-17T19:33:25Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > “I wish you were not my child” has to rank pretty high. My father once yelled at me: “I can’t believe you’re my son!” But worse would be a mother saying: “I wish I’d had an abortion.” Or even worse: “You’ve had no effect on anyone you’ve ever known; you might as well never have been born.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/28 "2010-11-17T19:41:53Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > My father once yelled at me: “I can’t believe you’re my son!” > > But worse would be a mother saying: “I wish I’d had an abortion.” > > Or even worse: “You’ve had no effect on anyone you’ve ever known; you might as well never have been born.” But then an angel shows up to prove that that’s wrong! Not to mention the seeing-1930s’-Donna-Reed-naked part. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/29 "2010-11-17T20:14:24Z")
“…shall be and hereby is disbarred from the practice of law before the Courts of this State.” I’d rather be shot in the head. And if that ever happens to me, I’ll shoot myself in the head shortly after SCOTUS affirms or denies Cert. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/30 "2010-11-17T20:16:32Z")
“We’re all out of French fries.” The horror. ---
**Author:** ![ptr2void](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ptr2void/32/3406_2.png) [@ptr2void](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ptr2void)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/31 "2010-11-17T20:19:41Z")
“I don’t like you” ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/32 "2010-11-17T20:24:17Z")
“You have the right to remain silent…” ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/33 "2010-11-17T20:33:17Z")
“You’re just like your mother.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/34 "2010-11-17T21:13:08Z")
“I \*trusted \*you, Dad.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/35 "2010-11-17T21:14:43Z")
> [@Soliloquy](#): > > “You have the right to remain silent…” Considerably worse than that is, “No, you’re confused. This is Kazakhstan. You have no such right.” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/36 "2010-11-17T21:16:33Z")
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/37 "2010-11-17T22:52:36Z")
“The power of Christ compels you!” ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/38 "2010-11-18T00:06:37Z")
“Your mother was right to treat you as she did. The things she said to you, and about you, were accurate and true.” ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/39 "2010-11-18T00:32:04Z")
_Something actually said:_ If you tell your mother about this, you’ll get in trouble. _Things I haven’t given anyone a chance to say:_ I don’t believe you. You just want attention don’t you? Stop making this up. Get over it, that was 15 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720/40 "2010-11-18T00:45:24Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > “Oh, and I just fed your cat poison.” It’d be even worse if it was missing the “y”, the way I read it the first time. ::Wonders what cat poison is:: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-thing-someone-could-say-about-you-to-your-face/560720.md?page=3)