Welcome to English in a Minute!
A compliment is something nice you say to someone. But what is a backhanded compliment?
Backhanded Compliment 隐含讥讽的恭维
Anna: Jonathan, Caty just told me my script was good... surprisingly good.
Jonathan: That my fried, is a backhanded compliment.
Anna: Yes! She was surprised it was good. So, she expected it to be bad.
Jonathan: Oh, let it go, Anna. Backhanded or not, it's still a compliment.
A backhanded compliment seems like a nice comment. But it's not. It's an insult made to look like a compliment.
And that's English in a Minute!
backhanded compliment: a remark that seems to say something pleasant about a person but could also be an insult
隐含讥讽的恭维
She said my new pants really make my legs look much slimmer. What a backhanded compliment!
她说我的新裤子让我的腿看起来瘦多了。多么讽刺的恭维啊!
