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backhanded compliment. An insult in the guise of an expression of praise. For example, She said she liked my hair, but it turned out to be a left-handed compliment when she asked how long I'd been dyeing it. This expression uses left-handed in the sense of "questionable or doubtful," a usage dating from about 1600.
A backhanded compliment or left-handed compliment or asteism is an insult disguised as a compliment. It is generally used to belittle or condescend, or often one uses a backhanded compliment when one wants to insult someone in a subtle way.[1]
An example of a backhanded compliment would be to tell a woman "I very much like your dress. It does wonders for your figure." In doing so it would seem on the surface that one is complimenting the woman's choice in clothing, and perhaps even her figure, but closer examination reveals that what one is saying is that the woman's figure is unattractive and needs assistance from a garment in order to be improved. In this fashion one has not complimented the woman, but in fact the garment's ability to slenderize.
Sometimes a backhanded compliment can be more obvious, combining an obvious compliment with an equally obvious insult. It could be argued that this is a less skillful execution of the technique. One might for instance say "You are an excellent artist, which is a relief considering what a poor cook you are!" In this fashion no part of the intent has been veiled, yet the insult may still be softened enough to make the entire statement seem like a compliment.
Backhanded compliments are not always intentional. The speaker may intend to pay a compliment, but in so doing accidentally
reveal feelings that are not so complimentary. For example, on the August 23, 2007 episode of The Daily Show, guest
Other examples: "I want to be just like you when I get old"; "You're not as dumb as I thought".
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Copyrights:
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 | Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Backhanded compliment". Read more |
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