I have had long hair my whole life, and because of this, I hear the line "Your hair is so long" all of the time. At this point, I just say thank you and take it as a compliment because I'm honestly not sure how to respond. Everyone goes through this struggle of not knowing how to respond to one of these lines daily. This line inspired me to write a list of these one-liners that no one is sure how to respond to.
1. "Your hair is so long"
Like I said before, I'm not quite sure whether or not this is a compliment. Do you like long hair? Is it too long for you? Although I don't know whether or not this is a compliment, I normally just take it as one.
2. "You and your brother look so much alike"
Okay, thank you? I mean, my brother is a good looking kid ... for a guy.
3. "You really like *insert school subject here*"
Yeah, maybe I do like English, but is that a compliment or are you subtly hinting that me liking this subject is not okay with you?
4. "You look like someone I know"
Is that someone you know a supermodel?
5. "You changed your hair"
Thank you for noticing? Did you like it better before? Does it look good? This is one of those lines that someone could be giving you either as a compliment, insult, or just as an observation.
6. "You got a new outfit"
Do I normally wear the same thing over and over again? Is it flattering? This is another good example of a line that could be really nice, or really insulting.
7. "You look thin in that outfit"
Do I normally look fat?
8. "You really go to the gym a lot"
Does it show? Does it not show? Is this a dig at me or a compliment? Who knows.
9. "You're so tall"
Yeah, I can reach stuff on the top shelf, but do you prefer someone who is short? Am I intimidating you?
10. "You have your whole life planned out"
Personally, I would take this one as a compliment, but some people may be using this as an insult. Not everyone wants to have a plan, or have a friend who has it all planned out. For me, I'd respond to this with a big "thank you."
11. "You're always listening to *type of music here*"
Is this a genre of music you like as well, or is it something you hate? Everyone likes a different kind of music, don't let them ruin your fun.
12. "Oh, you're in *certain sorority or frat*?"
Is this an insult toward my organization or is it one of the ones you don't like?
There are so many different back-handed compliments, or phrases that we don't know how to respond to. My advice? Take it all as a compliment. Once you say "thank you", even if it was meant to be an insult, they most likely won't take it back.
