A good compliment, at a bad time, is very bad indeed

A good compliment, at a bad time, is very bad indeed
30 April 2014

One can be mistaken for thinking that a compliment is always a good thing.  Cause sadly, at times, though the intention might be good, it doesn’t always come across as such.

And maybe that’s the magic combo – compliment + perfect timing = excellence.

Get the magic combo wrong, and you’ll be in the dog box.  Maybe not even lucky enough to be in there.

Thus the equation can go something like this – compliment + bad timing = disaster.

Personally, I’ve put my own foot into it, many a time.  Meaning really well, but sadly coming up short.  Saying just the wrong thing, at the wrong time.

But here’s the thing – I’m not the only one.  I bet you’ve put your foot right into it too.  Plenty of times.  And listening to the stories of friends of mine, they’ve done the same.

For me there was that time, I complimented an old school friend on how lovely she was looking with her pregnancy.  Feeling pretty chuffed with myself.  Until she replied, that her baby son, was two weeks old…..  If only the earth would’ve opened up and swallowed me whole.

Another friend of mine, had been dieting like crazy, for weeks on end.  Showing extreme self-discipline with her food choices and healthy life style.  And upon asking her husband if he could see the results of all of her hard work, his reply was, “Your bum’s not looking so bulbous anymore”.  Not sure either him, nor my friend ever quite recovered from that “little” gaffe. 

Stories like these are usually extremely funny.  Mostly because they’re not fabricated.  They’re based on honest to goodness real life experiences.  Fact truly is stranger than fiction.

One of the worst things about the awful-compliment-timing-thing, is the fact that the very second you open your mouth and hear your own voice, you just know that it’s wrong.  But by that stage, you can’t take it back.  Nor reverse or rewind.  And thus you’re left with awkward apologies.  And a terrible, horrible, awful feeling.  Right in the very pit of your stomach.

However, fear not.  There is hope.  I’ve also been on the receiving end of the awful-compliment-timing-thing.  And usually it’s made me laugh too.  Though sometimes it did take a bit longer to the see the humour.  Like that time some guy told me that long ago he had a girlfriend that looked just like me.  But she had a nose job.  And he advised me to not follow the same route.  I do believe I was stunned silent.  For the longest time.  I still giggle about it to this day.  In addition, I’ve told my whole family.  And they still giggle about it too.

And all of this, came to the fore, when I saw a funny pic.  A pic with a caption – usually my best.

And this little one was a gem – “I hate when you offer someone a sincere compliment on their moustache, and suddenly she’s not your friend anymore”.

Just gotta laugh at that!

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