# Um, wow, I have no idea what to say to that. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 7, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979 "2005-11-07T23:35:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/41 "2005-11-08T21:56:24Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > \ > > Mrs. Beaumont: Are you married? > Fiona: No. > Mrs. Beaumont: Are you a lesbian? > Fiona: Good lord! What makes you ask that? > Mrs. Beaumont: Well, it is one of the possibilites for unmarried girls nowadays, and it’s rather more interesting than saying, “Oh dear, never met the right chap,” eh? > Fiona: Quite right. Why be dull? > Mrs. Beaumont: Thank you. > [long pause] > Fiona: I was a lesbian once at school, but only for about fifteen minutes. > > \ i meant to quote this post i also hope youse guys know i’m kidding ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/42 "2005-11-08T21:57:11Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Second, share with me your stories of inappropriate comments that left you wondering “WTF am I supposed to say to that?”. Yeah, it’ll grow back. After the chemo. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/43 "2005-11-08T22:09:18Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > So when I say, “Why did you cut your hair? It looked so pretty long?” I don’t mean it’s ugly now, but that I liked it long. That’s all. Why would you get offended? 😕 Well, you might not mean it that way, but that’s what I hear. If it was pretty then, what is it now? I know! Let’s do some SAT-style analogies! (Can you believe they took these out of the SAT? I did _extremely_ well on that section, too!) long : short :: pretty : \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ So, maybe this is one of those occasions where you should just keep your opinion to yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/44 "2005-11-08T22:16:43Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Well, you might not mean it that way, but that’s what I hear. If it was pretty then, what is it now? > > I know! Let’s do some SAT-style analogies! (Can you believe they took these out of the SAT? I did _extremely_ well on that section, too!) > > long : short :: pretty : \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > > So, maybe this is one of those occasions where you should just keep your opinion to yourself. Pretty is short, too. It just seems to me long is prettier. And I promise to keep my opinion to myself _unasked_. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/45 "2005-11-08T22:17:51Z")
That’d be short is pretty, too. Your analogy confused me. 'Mika no think good! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/46 "2005-11-08T22:27:23Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Well, you might not mean it that way, but that’s what I hear. If it was pretty then, what is it now? > > I know! Let’s do some SAT-style analogies! (Can you believe they took these out of the SAT? I did _extremely_ well on that section, too!) > > long : short :: pretty : \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > > So, maybe this is one of those occasions where you should just keep your opinion to yourself. you cannot fault the speaker for what the listener hears yes - people have to be aware of how what they say is perceived, but also people \*\*\*sometimes \*\* \* have to listen to the messenger, not just the message ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/47 "2005-11-08T22:35:47Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > you cannot fault the speaker for what the listener hears > yes - people have to be aware of how what they say is perceived, but also people \*\*\*sometimes \*\* \* have to listen to the messenger, not just the message Okay, but if someone comes up to you and says, in a wailing tone, “You cut your hair! And you had such gorgeous hair, too! Especially when you put it up in a pony tail. Awww. Oh well, it’ll grow back”\* is there another message to perceive other than “I hate your haircut”? \*Not verbatim, but pretty much what my coworker said to me, as best as I can recall. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/48 "2005-11-08T22:59:58Z")
On the hijack, I, at one point, had mid-back hair which I was planning on cutting significantly-above-my-ears. A friend’s at-the-time boyfriend informed me that I shouldn’t, since “guys don’t like short hair on girls”. I brushed it off, kept talking. He reiterated, in a very firm and directive tone, that under no circumstances should I cut my hair short, since guys don’t like girls with short hair. I yelled over to my boyfriend, sitting a few stools away, “What do you think about girls with short hair?” “They’re HOT!” he replied. Didn’t like that guy anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/49 "2005-11-08T23:09:41Z")
> [@LaurAnge](#): > > He reiterated, in a very firm and directive tone, that under no circumstances should I cut my hair short, since guys don’t like girls with short hair. That is just hilarious. Why on earth would he think you’d be interested in his opinion? I’ve heard a few guys say they like long hair on girls. I’ve had long hair for 20 years (waist-length at one point), and I felt like I needed a change. Whether or not a man likes it or not didn’t really enter into the equation. ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/50 "2005-11-08T23:15:21Z")
Statement: Don’t worry…it’ll grow back! Response: I know, its a conspiracy by the hair salon industry to suck money from our wallets every 6-8 weeks! I’ve never trusted people with that many different “hair care products” and the knowledge to use them! 😃 Or you could just kick the offensive person out of your office…I did that last week and it felt good. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2005, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/51 "2005-11-08T23:17:07Z")
> [@xbuckeye](#): > > Or you could just kick the offensive person out of your office…I did that last week and it felt good. Sadly, I have only a cubicle. Oh, if I had an office to kick people out of… _happy daydreaming_ ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/52 "2005-11-09T00:25:30Z")
Once I ran into a woman I knew, and she had inch-long hair, freshly blonde. I blinked, and I said, “Dang, now I’ll have to get a haircut. I feel uneasy talking to a woman with hair shorter than mine.” :smack: :smack: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/53 "2005-11-09T01:05:42Z")
Why did I cut it short? It was starting to move when there was no wind. Just a gentle swaying, like the surface of a lake, but I knew I’d better destroy it before it destroyed me. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/54 "2005-11-09T01:30:32Z")
Wait until their next hair cut and say Wow, who got drunk and cut your hair? I dunno really what to say. It seems thoughtless, but it may not have been malicious. It is different for me maybe, but I have had people make rude comments about a hair cut. I simply say “I like it.” Since usually I’m the only one whose opinion matters, that is enough. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/55 "2005-11-09T01:49:52Z")
The summer after my freshman year of college, I got my shoulder-length hair cropped to a buzzcut (and also got contacts that same summer – several people didn’t recognize me in the fall). Anyway, the next day at my summer job, one guy commented, “What, did you get about six haircuts?” But it made me laugh. It was a pretty severe change, after all, and I didn’t get any sort of derogatory vibe out of it. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/56 "2005-11-09T14:56:36Z")
> [@rkts](#): > > I must be a woman, then. That would be fucking ugly. … he said with a disdainful _sniff_. Listen bub, the only man that would say that a top which artfully displays a woman’s breasts, is “ugly” is either lying or gay. Immodest, I can see. Scandalous? Sure, why not. Ugly? I don’t think so. Secondly, there’s only one kind of straight man that makes ignorant comments about a woman’s appearance, such as the ones in the OP - that’s a very, very stupid man. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/57 "2007-08-05T16:53:15Z")
Whenever someone says something truly ridiculous with impressive gall I laugh in their face. Loudly. I really don’t hold back. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/58 "2007-08-05T17:12:40Z")
In Korea, if you meet someone you haven’t seen in a while and they think you’ve gained weight, they’ll say something like: “You’re looking . . . healthy!” :dubious: I’m pretty short (somewhere between 5’ and 5’1") and have a small build, so a lot of people comment on my, er, smallness. I don’t mind usually, I’ve grown used to it, but sometimes I wonder why they bother. At least they don’t comment on my breasts. I have a somewhat fuller bosom than most women my height, and back home every girl I met saw fit to comment on them. “Wow, you have bigger boobs than I’d expect. Is it because you lived in the US?” I usually just smiled and said, “No, I get them from my grandmother.” I also get a lot of comments on my English, especially after people hear I’m from Korea. “You’re not American? But your English is so good!” “Thanks, yours isn’t half bad either.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/59 "2007-08-05T17:40:24Z")
I like long hair on women. I like short hair on women. Heck, I’ve seen bald women I liked. I guess I just like women. 🙂 However, I often have difficulty recognising people. A radical change in hairstyle _will_ confuse me. But that is my problem, not yours. Re: blue eyes… I occasionally get that “your eyes are so blue!” thing as well. I’m now tempted to reply, “Why, yes. I had them dyed. They were red before.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979/60 "2007-08-05T17:43:40Z")
When I was suffering through pubescent acne, my grandmother, out of the blue, exclaimed, “Your skin just looks awful!” I think I said something like, “Thanks for the info, Nana, my mirror is out of order so I can’t see how I look.” And she wasn’t senile or anything (her mind was sharp up to the very end); she was just kind of a bitch sometimes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/um-wow-i-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-that/329979.md?page=4)