backhanded compliment
2
7.5
- noun
- /ˈbækˌhændɪd kəmˈplɪmənt/
- Offensive
:
elogio envenenado
- When she told me, "You look great for your age," it felt like a backhanded compliment.
I'm considered a clean comedian, which is a very backhanded compliment.
- I'm considered a clean comedian, which is a very backhanded compliment.
- During his speech, Mayor Pete gave Bernie a bit of a backhanded compliment.
- So he took, he took, he took kind of a as a backhanded compliment.
Examples
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And the NY Times will continue to give backhanded compliments.
Blog text (28) -
I'll take that backhanded compliment before we get into that conversation.
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I will accept your backhanded compliment.
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Always with the backhanded compliment.
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That was a pretty backhanded compliment.
Fiction book (1990) -
It was what is considered a backhanded compliment.
Blog text (28) -
You note that Jobs' harshest critics have recently started allowing some backhanded compliments.
Blog text (29) -
I admit that the last sentence is about the biggest backhanded compliment I've ever given someone.
Blog text (9) -
In other words, you offer backhanded compliments while knocking the QB's play.
Blog text (2) -
Sam: This will sound like a backhanded compliment, and yes, in a way it is, but one of the strengths of the film is its running time.
Blog text (5)
Synonyms
1
7.7
A remark that seems like praise but also insults someone
Antonyms
How Insulting
Surface Forms
Morphology
If a learner knows 'backhanded' as meaning ambiguous or insincere and 'compliment' as praise, the combined meaning — a remark that looks like praise but is actually insulting — is directly derivable from the constituents. The adjective+noun composition follows a regular pattern, so the sense is transparently predictable to learners who know both words.
Etymology
The phrase backhanded compliment may come from the idea of a backhanded slap, a rude hit with the back of the hand, so the compliment really hurts. That's why it means 'praise' that is actually an 'insult'.