left-handed compliment
1
7.7
- noun
- /ˈlɛftˈhændɪd kəmˈplɪmənt/
- Offensive
:
halago envenenado
Examples
-
Where I come from, they call it a left-handed compliment.
-
- Thanks for the left-handed compliment.
-
It was a left-handed compliment to the wives.
Blog text (33) -
Beyond that, in the international community, the performance fostered recognition of Tuareg as somehow distinctive from other Muslim peoples—a kind of "left-handed compliment."
Academic text (2005) -
When she said I was smart for someone my age, it sounded like a left-handed compliment.
-
His praise about my project being impressive for a beginner was clearly a left-handed compliment.
-
She offered me a left-handed compliment by saying I did better than expected.
Synonyms
2
7.5
A remark that sounds like praise but secretly insults someone
Antonyms
How Sincere
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'compliment' is transparent, but the modifier 'left-handed' here is used figuratively to mean awkward or insincere rather than literal hand preference. That figurative use is not directly predictable from the constituents for a B1 learner who only knows the literal senses, though context can sometimes hint at the ironic meaning, so the expression is partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
Left-handed compliment may come from an old idea that the left hand was awkward or not proper, so praise given with the left hand felt weak or not sincere. That's why the phrase means 'a remark that seems like praise but is actually an insult'.