Left Handed Compliments

"Well, if nothing else Bob, you are interesting."

Mari, When my first born was quite young, my mother-in-law came by to visit. She looked at me and said, "We are going to fix a good dinner for little girl tonight, aren't we?"

"We?" I sputtered. "Sure, which part are you going to do?"

dys/Bob. I'm surprised that red headed temper didn't flare. I think "interesting" may be a word that can go either way.

Now that was a good one Letty! Mine usually offered to cook for some occasion and then left me with either all of it to do, or all the dishes to clean up after she had gone.

Oh! I remembered one...Honey I really like this dinner you made, but it's not good for my stomach, do you think you could make me something else instead?

Wow!, Mari. Now I'm beginning to understand your delight at having her half a continent away.

Letty don't put her closer...lol...she's half a world away...on the other side of the ocean and then some

I've been thinking, you should have handed the baby to your mother in law and said great I'll be back later!

One of those: "I wish I had thought of that"!

LOL..yeah...I probably wouldn't have thought of it then either.

How about this? It's real:

I defended you today. Someone said you weren't fit to eat with pigs. I said "You are too!"

At the opening of In-service training in a small school district in WV, the Superintendent welcomed all the professional teachers, and also those who had come from out of state, to the beginning of a new school year.

Hey, everybody.

I really appreciated the responses, here. This is not one of my better days, but I hope to get through it anyway.

Morganwood, It's so good to see you here again, and that just like a super, isn't It?

John Garvey, I heard that just a little differently.

Only WV has the professionals, eh? (Nice to see you, morganwood! Has been a while.)

You're in pretty good shape...
...for a guy your age.

My younger brother got me with this one, when I moved from Michigan to Florida ten years ago:

"I think its good that you're going. You'll be able to increase the average IQ level in two states."

The litotes is a term for a certain type of praise, such as, "She's not unattractive," or "Your voice isn't bad." Leave the listener wondering a bit about what's really being communicated...

D'art., litotes? Wow...now that beats being a lefty anytime.

A friend of mine and I were double dating one night. My friend saw her date looking at me and replied. "Well, I see you giving Letty the once over. What do you think? "Well, he replied. "I wouldn't kick her out of bed." I was such a kid then, that I thought it a supreme compliment.

I think it was Alexander Pope who wrote,

"Damned with faint praise...."

Noddy, I don't recall that Pope quote, but it's a damned good one.

The only one that I can think of at the moment is ..."fools rush in..." Great song taken from that, but I won't sing it unless you beg me to.

Which makes me think of the typical musician thing. We were all out at a club that was jointly owned by several friends. Someone suggested that I sit in, and sing "Goody Goody" so I walked to the bandstand and asked Duffy if that would be all right. "Okay, he said. "but just one."

At first, I thought of turning around and going back to our table, but then I thought--why should I? So I replied that should I get an encore would two do? I did, and he wasn't too happy about that.

Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer,

And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer;

Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,

Just hint at fault, and hesitate dislike.

Alexander Pope Imitations of Horace



Pope was a rip-roaring, articulate, l hunchbacked viper. Did you know that he, personally and unaided, is responsible for the popularity of the weeping willow?

For faint praise--one of the nastiest things you can say about an amateur theatrical performance: "Most of them knew all their lines."

Clever and interesting thread, which I can't add to from my own mind right this minute. Long may this thread live, though, as a lot of us may think of entering descriptions later.........