: What is an appropriate and polite response to a compliment that I know is disingenuous? Related Articles And upon receiving such a compliment, am I required to return one that is equally disingenuous? I ask because someone I know invariably compliments me on something I’m wearing, my hair, etc. I’m not a stylish person and my hair tends to be a mess. Her compliments have the consequence of making me feel self-conscious, looked-over and, ultimately, lied to.
The safe answer is, of course, “Thank you,” which Miss Manners points out can be delivered in a way that subtly undercuts the literal words. Mind you, she does not recommend such an approach. The point about ambiguously delivered compliments is that they are ambiguous — and can be misread.
Better to return genuine thanks to someone who appreciates messy hair than to insult someone who does not. : My wife and I have a new home, which is an exciting milestone. When we attended a dinner with my brother, his wife and her parents, the latter spent nearly half of the evening’s conversation asking when they would be invited over to see the house.
They also took my phone hostage to see photos of the house. It was way beyond polite conversational interest in our new home. They are generally nice people, but their persistence at trying to get inside our house is uncomfortable.
How do we politely deter their attempts to invite themselves over, just so they can poke around every room and closet? We may eventually have th.