‘What’s the worst insult you’ve suffered from someone who didn’t even mean it as an insult?’ – 27 proper stingers

Sometimes the most cutting insults are ones that weren’t intended as insults at all. We say this after IrohsFavoriteTea had a question for everyone over on Reddit.

“What is the worst insult you’ve suffered from someone who didn’t even mean it as an insult?”

And the accidental insults came in thick and fast. Here are 27 of the most memorable (and some of them were surely accidental on purpose. Weren’t they?)

1.

‘Was moving on from a job and on my second last day my manager says: “Take tomorrow off no one will miss you.”

‘He later informed me that he had meant that I should finish a day early and that no one would mind.’
dbthedon

‘Lol that’s the kind of phrasing that gives you anxiety for years afterwards.’
Scaniarix

2.

“You’re pregnant?!”

“No”

“Are you sure?”

‘Never wore that dress again.’
ExcellentFormal4261

“Are you sure?” What the absolute fuck.’
anneylani

3.

‘When I was a teen, my dad told me he heard of an athlete who wrote a book about how he used to be bullied when he was young, how he was the school’s loser and had no friends … “Exactly like you,” my dad added.

‘What a way to advertise a book to me, thanks dad!’
Baphee

4.

‘I did nude figure modeling for painting classes for extra cash in college about 15 years ago – one of the students was having trouble capturing my likeness and called the teacher over for help. The teacher: “Well – she has an unremarkable, normal face with no strong features, which is much more difficult to paint …”

‘I mean, they’re not wrong from a painting point of view – but nothing like quietly dying inside, fully naked with an audience.’
kettleofhawks

5.

‘My boss pointing at me said to others: “He may be fat but he is most hardworking person here.”
SuvenPan

‘A nicer way to say this would be: “He is worth his weight in gold.”
Merlin_Drake

6.

‘When studying martial arts I had an instructor try to teach my why a particular feint never worked for me.

“In order for that feint to work, you opponent must first respect your ability to complete the strike. Everyone here knows your abilities, so they don’t fall for it.”

‘It was factually and technically accurate, and I understand what he was telling me. But, after thinking about it for not very long, I realized what sick burn it was.’
mikemojc

7.

‘You aren’t even THAT ugly!’
Abusing_MH

8.

‘I recently got a very bright, very obnoxious Pac-Man hoodie, it is without a doubt the loudest thing I own. As I was heading out the door for work, my 3 year old told me “Remember dad, if people laugh at you, you can always take your sweatshirt off!”

‘The best part is he was genuinely just trying to give me some supportive advice. He just accidently gave me the best burn I’ve received in years.’
Spacewaster94

9.

‘My kid told me they wanted to be ordinary like me when they grew up.’
ph3m3

10.

‘When I was 25 I had bought a house in a suburb of a major city. One of my neighbors was elderly and came over to welcome me to the neighborhood. She asked if my wife lived with me and I just stated I lived alone. She goes “Oh yeah the person that lived here before was a lonely guy too.”

‘Fucking ouch, Elizabeth.’
MEEE3EEEP

11.

‘Getting on an adult ride at the fair, Operator says to me, “Ma’am, you can’t ride this if you are pregnant.” I was not pregnant.’
38563856

12.

‘I (35M) Was getting dressed one morning and my daughter came in before I had my shirt on. She’s like 4 at the time and says “Oh you have boobs like mommy.”

‘There was no recovering from that.’
RAWainwright

13.

‘A good friend’s girlfriend told me, “I love how not girly you are and how you don’t care about how you look!”

‘I think she genuinely meant it as a compliment, but both of those things were news to me…’
angerilla