Talk:Backhanded compliment

This article was nominated for deletion on 10 December 2012 (UTC). The result of the discussion was merge to Insult.

This article was nominated for deletion on 3 September 2005. The result of the discussion was TRANSWIKI to Wiktionary.

Other usage[edit]

"It is generally used to belittle or condescend, or often one uses a backhanded compliment when one wants to insult someone in a subtle way." - erm, no, that may be the American usage, but in Scotland where it is traditional not to praise certain things too highly, or even do them down, a backhanded compliment is a means of praising something but not in a particularly obvious way. And they say Americans don't understand irony...--MacRusgail (talk) 15:54, 16 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Text is fine, references aren't[edit]

I really feel folks have done a good job on the text of this article. However.

Urban Dictionary is not anything like a reliable source -- practically the opposite -- and should never appear in Wiki: Anyone can add a definition, any number of definitions can be added, and public voting only establishes which (unvetted) online readers like a definition, not which one is held to be correct by any authority.

The Reference from www.joe-ks.com by-and-large doesn't agree with the Wiki article. And it's just as unreliable a source as Urban Dictionary. (Yes, I just bookmarked it, and plan to go back and enjoy it, no it's not a reliable source.)

Reliable sources aren't filled with anonomously contributed material, unsourced material, material which changes on a daily basis without any explanation or justification.

Instead, quote one of the major dictionaries, or a published encyclopedia. Then you'll have one very tidy little article, here.

24.130.14.173 (talk) 14:21, 3 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. I removed the link to Urban Dictionary in January; User:Evrik reverted my change. We discussed the issue briefly here: User_talk:Phoenixrod#Urbandictionary.com_link. I have since then seen several editors remove the link; it is always re-instated. How about a discussion here? -Phoenixrod (talk) 15:44, 10 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Political[edit]

Regarding the uncited example by Barack Obama... is it really necessary to attempt to score political points in a completely non-political article? (Note, I am from outside the US and have no interest in US politics) 217.45.238.49 (talk) 14:12, 23 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Small problems[edit]

There are five examples, but only four of them are explained
The third example mentions men, but the explanation refers to women
The text uses the term "criticism", would "insult" perhaps be better?
There is this sentence "In some cultures, backhanded compliments are considered a genteel or polite way of expressing disdain." Which cultures, for example?

79.249.115.226 (talk) 17:34, 31 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]