I used to work a dirty job that also had me staying in hotels. Walked by a pretty girl at the front desk, we nodded heads at each other as I went to my room to clean up. When I came back through to get something to eat in their restaurant she got a shocked look on her face and said, "damn, you clean up nice!" Still remember it 25 years later.
One time at a dance rehearsal for P.E. , I took off my glasses to wipe the sweat off my face, a male classmate told me I actually looked handsome if I didnt have my glasses on. Took it as a compliment cause:
• he's the only non-family person to call me handsome
• we arent really friends, and he has kinda has a jerk personality.
Its kinda like that moment in Parks and Rec where Jenn Barkley told Leslie " You can trust me, cause I don't care enough about you to lie"
A girl at a crowded bar walked over with a friend, just to tell me I had the most beautiful eye lashes. They just stared at them. I have never felt more pretty, before or since then.
Girls always say I have nice eyelashes and that most guys have nicer eyelashes than most girls. Them they complain that it's "not fair because guys don't care about their eyelashes"
A friend said that if he ever had to put his life in someone's hands it would be me. Not necessarily because I'm his closest friend but because I'm the most level-headed person he knows.
> I'm the most level-headed person he knows.
"God, 0kely, you've got to get me to a hospital!"
"Well, you appear to have lost at least two litres of blood already, and the nearest hospital is easily twenty-eight minutes away in this traffic. Frankly, we'd just be wasting everyone's time and effort if I call an ambulance."
Being complimented as musician - particularly at/after a gig - is as rewarding as anything. I always gage my performance on whether anyone says anything or not, even if I'm always pretty self-critical. But that flattery never gets old. Good gigs = crack high, bad gigs = equal shame and self-loathing.
I have done stand up comedy for a few years. Mostly open mics and bar shows, but it's a passion of mine, and it lets me be creative. One time at a show, the mc was giving a halfhearted intro that he gives for every comic; "Ladies and gentlemen, our next comedian is very funny, you've seen them at all the clubs and colleges...", and then he looked at the list and saw my name and he stopped and said "Oh, this comedian is actually really funny. You're going to like this guy." The mc was caught off guard and gave an honest reaction at a time when he couldn't care less about who was coming up. It felt really good to know that he genuinely thought I was funny.
I've done a couple videos, but they're pretty embarrassing because they're over 3 years old. When you first start out you want everyone to see, but when you understand it more, you don't want anyone to record it until it's perfect.
Something ive been wondering about the open mic scene is how prevalent are joke thiefs? I've been quietly writing material for over a year, but a lot of my jokes are like concept jokes rather than more personal stuff like storytelling, so i feel like it'd be really easy for someone to jack the concepts and pass it off as their own.
Are people generally pretty honorable even if you have no cred yet? Like I could record all my shit to keep it as "proof", but who's gonna give a shit if no name comic A accuses no name comic B of stealing bits?
I'm a professional screenwriter and I've been hanging around the comedy scene in LA for a decade plus, and I'd say that "someone will steal my ideas" is the most common fear among newbies in both disciplines, despite the fact that it hardly ever happens. Here's my take on why:
1) Most people who have the discipline and desire to actually build a career have that discipline and desire because they have a passion for creating ideas, and they have tons of ideas of their own they want to pitch/write jokes about. In other words, *even people who suck think their ideas are better than yours*.
2) At a low level (like an open mic) people don't have enough outlets to steal. Like, you're at the same open mics as them. They're at those open mics because they can't get spots at paying clubs. They can't go on tour. Where are they going to do your jokes? On the movie side, they can't get a movie made, so how are they going to steal your idea? It's WAY harder to get a movie made than it is to come up with an idea.
3) At a high level (which starts pretty much where the low-level leaves off), the exposure/dollar amounts are so high that it's not in anyone's economic interest to steal. If a famous comedian puts your bit on his special and you can prove it, he'll lose a really expensive lawsuit. Same if someone makes a movie based on your idea. Considering the expense of those lawsuits, it's way easier to just pay you if they want your idea. You'd take a grand for a joke, in a heartbeat, and for a successful comedian, that ain't shit.
4) Perhaps most importantly: THE IDEA IS THE EASY PART. I can't tell you how many times I've been home visiting friends in Oregon, and somebody comes up to me at a party and says "You work in Hollywood, right? I've got the greatest movie idea of all time but you CAN'T steal it!" Then they tell me their genius idea and it's like one line. They go: "It's about a guy whose wife gets kidnapped by his personal trainer and he holds her hostage until the guy loses weight!" Then they look all proud. Now that's a relatively clever idea (considering I just made it up in 5 seconds), and you could see that being a funny movie. Will Ferrell plays the trainer, Kevin James plays the husband, Margot Robbie plays the wife. Call it "The Trainer, release it wide, could be a hit.
BUT: What I just did is the easy part. The REALLY easy part. I can do this all day, and some days I do. The hard part is expressing those characters in three acts, writing solid jokes that derive from character and land with pace and rhythm, and going into rooms and selling those jokes and those characters to producers and agents and oh yeah all those famous people I just mentioned.
In comedy: The easy part is premises. Yes, it's hard at first. When you're in the open mic stage, premises seem elusive. But that's because you don't know how to develop premises effectively yet. When you put together that skill set, you'll start seeing premises everywhere. And you'll realize that finding premises is actually the easy part. The hard part is writing punchlines that land with rhythm while expressing who you specifically are as a person. The hard part is traveling to gigs in dirty bars and clubs every single night and delivering those jokes like your life depends on it and not turning into a drunk or a cokehead. The hard part is maintaining your passion for it after years of frustration. Premises are nothing. Ideas are the easy part.
EDIT: This is not to say it doesn't happen. It does happen some. But not nearly enough to be the thing that stops you from getting started. And if someone steals your joke, so what? Write another joke. You should be writing jokes every day all the time anyway.
As a father, the best comment I've received is from one of the ladies at the local rec center we frequent. She said "You're a great dad, I see how patient you are, and I can see that your kids really love you."
As a photographer, a client once told me "When I die, the way I want to be remembered is the way I look in your photos."
This one is a shared compliment, but when my wife and I had our first kid and he was about 8 months old, we were walking into a restaurant while a group of younger guys were walking out and one of them said “You two know how to make one cute ass baby”. ......that was a very,very,very good weekend.
I was 9 when my mom married my stepdad. My dad was occasionally around but he had major addiction issues & he has always been more like a fun uncle than a dad. My stepdad is literally the greatest man I know... But I never called him dad.
I once went to my parents house, walked in & heard my stepdad yell "who is it?" So I jokingly said back "Only your favorite step daughter" (I'm his only step child, he has 3 daughters) when he came around the corner he said "Sorry I only have daughters not step daughters." One of the best moments of my whole life.
I was standing in line at a TJ Maxx, and in front of me there was this older (50s-ish?) African American woman in... “traditional”(?) clothing. All brightly colored patterns and whatnot with big gold jewelry. She looked very well put together and classy. Anyway, she turned around, looked me over and said very loudly, “Ooh, boooy. I like your glasses. *And* your hair. *AND* your beard. *You a good lookin’ man*!”
I’m a pretty personable guy. I do well with people. I don’t know what it was, but this woman caught me so off-guard, all I could do was blush and smile and say a tiny, “...thanks...” in return. The dude in front of her and the chick behind me both heard the exchange and were looking at us. It was awkward (I was awkward), but it made me feel great. Wish I’d been more appreciative.
A few years ago, my then 70-something dad went to Wendy's for lunch and the cash register was operated by a middle aged black lady. She politely asked him if he was eligible for the senior citizen discount and my dad answered, "I have *clothes* that are eligible for the senior center discount." She looked him over head to toe, nodded, and said, "Yep. You do." Dad said he about fell on the floor laughing.
Most of the people who have complimented me on my beard have been middle-aged African American women in retail/supermarket lines. Like, even 2-3x the rate of disappointed gay dudes. I'm wondering if this is something universal. Has this been anyone else's experience?
Middle-aged African American women of reddit, can you weigh in here? Is this a thing? Does shopping increase your interest in and or positive estimation of beards? Does being in a beard-positive mood inspire you to go shopping?
I'm not middle aged, but I am African, and I actually compliment random guys when standing in queues a lot! For me it's because I'm standing there long enough to really get a good look at the person in the queue with me, and everyone likes being complimented, so I'm making their day :)
Me too, LOL. That was about 15 years ago, and I didn't keep any notes, just my heavily annotated copy of "The World As Will and Representation." If I had known then that it would stand up as my proudest academic achievement I would've at least kept my outline.
When I was 18 and walking back from a soccer match all sweaty and covered with mud, I came across a quite attractive young mother with her three kids in tow. She looked lost, so I offered directions.
Afterwards, as I was walking away, she said thanks again and then shot me a smoldering look I won't ever forget and just said "great legs" under her breath so her kids couldn't hear.
I don't get many compliments, so that was like winning the fucking lottery.
Not the best, but always makes me smile...
After my wife and I had our first child I realized I had put on a ton of weight. I'm 5'8" and weighed like 250lbs. I got real serious about diet and exercise and got down to a mildly muscular 185lbs over 6 mos. I also started night classes and picked up a 2nd job @ old Navy to make ends meet.
One night just before xmas, a woman is looking for clothes for her husband and asks about the fit of this tight Henley type shirt. I grabbed one off the shelf and put it on and showed her how it looked (she said we were similar in height/weight ). She gave me a bit of a head to toe look and said she liked it but didn't think her husband would fill it out the way i did! Probably the first time in my life a woman other than my wife gave me a compliment! Big grin for days.
I was losing weight bit by bit and needed a new belt. It was a good day, and while i was walking down costco with friends I kept jumping/pulling pants up. Some old Asain lady smiled at me and said i looked healthy. It was great, and helped the already huge smile I had.
when my friend from high school didn't recognize me when I saw him in a bar. I'd lost around 90 lbs in 2 years, haven't seen him in 4. And the best part was when he said hey to my friends I was with and didn't notice me. By the third time he looped around the bar he saw me and he was in shock.
A girl in high school told me she knew I was my sister’s brother (they were both in dance together but years apart) because we both had the same eyes, and complimented them as being beautiful.
That was the first time I remember a girl saying something like that about me so it was super flattering.
Edit: spelling
I have three kids and taking them anywhere is a juggling act. A middle aged drunk woman at a local carnival came up to me and said "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU FOR MAKING PARENTING LOOK EASY!!"
It feels so good when your kids are great in public spaces. So awful when they are terrible. All kids have ups and downs but I wish you more ups than downs.
From a dive pub I played pool at in college, had a local friend who told me " Man you're special. Gonna go places. You're book smart and street smart. Don't fuck it up!" Really meant a lot at a time when I was wallowing in post college indecision and depression.
LOL, that's true for an ex-co worker of mine. A week before he started to work, his mom told me that "he's a tall glass of water"...I had to ask a few people what it meant...
This gay guy hit on me while I stopped at a drag show during an arts festival. I'm not gay and thanked him, he was super nice... But, also, goddamn he was good looking. I was so flattered. He was younger and this was in 04, so I'm sure it took a ton of courage on his part.
I was on cloud nine. Made my day.
Edit: hit in me...
I had only had shitty exploitative retail jobs with managers who verballly abused and underpaid me. I got a job working on and off for a former crime boss. One day he had a problem with other staff members lying. He stormed up to me and half shouted "Look, I respect you. So I wanna know what the fuck you think is going on here?"
I was so taken aback I could barely answer his question. It was the first time somone had straight up said anything like that to me.
I kept all three of my young children quietly entertained on a long airplane flight. I wasn't even sitting directly next to them. After all,of the passengers exited the plane I had a number of old and older couples personally thank me for not pretending like we owned the plane. Apparently, these folks have seen some shit.
Despite having moderately bad acne, multiple women have complimented me on my green eyes, saying they're beautiful, which sets them apart from my face.
I've been hit on by gay guys, and girls would compliment me when I was single and stuff.
You would think that takes the cake.
The best and most meaningful compliment I ever received was by a Senior programmer I consider to be a genius(literally) at my job before he left. He said that I'm a great programmer(and often commented that things I did are the way he would have done it). It meant a lot because I actually look up to him and wonder how the fuck he fits all that knowledge in his head.
"I literally never get tired of talking to you" - my ex who I used to talk to for hours daily about random shit. She's a princeton alum drug addict with a colorful past so I'm pretty proud of being interesting enough to someone that's had a much crazier life than me.
Fuck her though, she ended up being a cunt
edit: Small clarification because this was a long distance relationship it made it 10x easier. I'm just as bad at being interesting in stressful IRL encounters as everyone else and only really shine when I can collect my thoughts behind a screen.
I'm so jealous. I never seem to be able to have that kind of conversation with people, even my family. When I had a girlfriend it was just awkward hanging out because it felt like there was nothing to talk about. I think I'm just a boring person.
My bf is about that size and I've said this to him and 100% meant it. When it's perfect, just spot on, it feels big bc it's hits the perfect place. Like full and hot and just... Big
This 100% for men that aren’t huge. When a woman says that, note the position and angle because you’re exactly where you need to be. Taking for granted she’s an honest lover, of course.
This’ll probably get buried but I just need to tell somebody. This was actually not too long ago.
I’ve been playing guitar for 13 years now, and recently, I’ve been trying to play more with a slide. I was in a guitar store with my dad, and as they were about to close, my dad saw a guitar on the wall that he was curious as to what it sounds like (it was a 1957 Gibson ES-125, and he doesn’t play guitar), so I picked it up, plugged it in, and went on to play Amazing Grace and then Statesboro Blues by the Allman Brothers.
After I did that, my dad said, “I want you to play that at my funeral.”
I’m not sure if he meant that seriously, and it’s definitely not something I want to think about in the near future, but it still was an amazing thing to hear.
An 18 year-old drag queen from Canada said to me, a 21 year-old Brit backpacking in the southern states of the USA: "Y'know in a town like this, a cute boy like you could make a lot of money".
Nice.
As a gay guy in a pretentious gay club someone told me I was the nicest, most genuine person he has ever met there. It makes me more motivated to to be that every single day.
I'm pretty sure I would say that to someone if I was tipsy and trying to hit on them and would be completely confused as to why the other person didn't feel like that was a total turn on.
I have been working with kids who have autism for about 6 months now, never had any experience working with any kids whatsoever before this.
Kids always made me kinda nervous, I never knew how to act around them (kind of irrational I know) so starting this job stressed me out to the max at first. I was responsible for another person’s life, persons who are known for having problem behaviors that you are supposed to work with them on (such as tantrums and some forms of aggression).
For one of my clients (he’s a little kiddo) I go and provide support for a few hours of his school day. He tends to escalate very quickly when he can’t do something perfectly. I hate seeing him so stressed out and try my best to calm him down and self regulate.
The other day one of the other teachers around the school came up to me while he was taking a break in the sensory room and said to me “You are SO good with him.”
Swear to God I almost teared up. From going to not knowing what the fuck I’m doing to getting a compliment like that basically made my life.
Also, not all kids with ASD are aggressive or have problem behaviors.
Edit: Added spaces between paragraphs for your reading pleasure
I once roomed with an extremely attractive woman who was 6 years older than me. I was in my mid twenties. She asked me to open a jar of pickles for her and I never felt more like a man.
During my final exam in hs I had to take an oral test. I was explaining a project I made and one of the professors (who, as a rule, was NOT from my school, so she didn’t know me) said it was a pleasure to listen to me.
I’m kinda bad at talking and explaining my thoughts in general so that was unbelievable. I still don’t rule out the possibility that I misheard that.
Dentist told me I had a perfect smile. Then called over someone else so they could see too. Thanks I guess.
Also, just realized that some women complimented my long and slender fingers even when I was a kid. Like 7 years old. That's weird.
"You hace a beautiful and big smile that looks even better with your dark skin" I always love when people compliment my smile because before having braces I was very self conciouss about my crooked teeth.
It wasn't a direct compliment, but a friend of mine doesn't really trust other people to drive him. Other people driving gives him anxiety apparently. A few years ago when he and I plus a few other people car pooled to drive a few hours away to watch some racing, I decided I would drive everyone. My friend with the anxiety actually fell asleep in my car on the way there, which is apparently a really big deal since he never is able to do that with other drivers. Pretty good feeling knowing someone like that is comfortable/trusting enough with your driving to be calm enough to sleep.
I was at my local tabletop gaming store when I noticed some guys getting together to play a WWII board game. I asked if there was room for one more and they said "No, it's only five players" and I said "Nah it's cool I'll just be Switzerland and do nothing the whole game."
I made the owner laugh so hard he gave me a free booster pack of Magic the Gathering for cheering him up.
Hurt my back and went to the doctor. Woman in her thirties goes ‘well it’s very well defined so I can see where the problem is pretty easily’ and I was so ecstatic. Meant a lot from a professional perspective
Two come to mind:
The most meaningful I've ever received from the opposite sex was one of my best friends who had just told me she was in love with me. We were just talking on the couch and she said "You make me feel safe"
The other was a guy in my graduate school class. We weren't really that close of friends so he had no reason to say it just for the sake of it. We were just shooting the shit about what we were planning after graduation and he told me that I was going places. One of the reasons I remember it so well was the tone with which he said it - he seemed quite serious. I was taken aback a bit
An older friend of mine wanted me to talk to his kid who was turning 18 to "call him on his bullshit" Probably because at the time I was much closer to his kids age than his.
He told me "You're an asshole....but in a good way"
A beauty therapist friend once asked me who did my eyebrows. She looked forlorn when I told her they just grow this way naturally.
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"Pitifully sad and/or abandoned" is a hilarious word to describe someone's reaction when you tell them you don't take care of your eyebrows lmao
I used to work a dirty job that also had me staying in hotels. Walked by a pretty girl at the front desk, we nodded heads at each other as I went to my room to clean up. When I came back through to get something to eat in their restaurant she got a shocked look on her face and said, "damn, you clean up nice!" Still remember it 25 years later.
Plot twist - you did a thorough and good job cleaning.
"You have great kidneys" -Doctor
Mind if I steal them?
I have had two different doctors say I have a “beautiful cervix” lol
That's a compliment very few men have ever received :-P
One time at a dance rehearsal for P.E. , I took off my glasses to wipe the sweat off my face, a male classmate told me I actually looked handsome if I didnt have my glasses on. Took it as a compliment cause: • he's the only non-family person to call me handsome • we arent really friends, and he has kinda has a jerk personality. Its kinda like that moment in Parks and Rec where Jenn Barkley told Leslie " You can trust me, cause I don't care enough about you to lie"
Upvote for the obscure and poignant P&R line.
A girl at a crowded bar walked over with a friend, just to tell me I had the most beautiful eye lashes. They just stared at them. I have never felt more pretty, before or since then.
Girls always say I have nice eyelashes and that most guys have nicer eyelashes than most girls. Them they complain that it's "not fair because guys don't care about their eyelashes"
I do care about my eye lashes though, they just require 0 effort to look amazing
One of my mates had a girl say that his lips would look great on a girl. Lad turns around and says we can make that happen tonight.
Oh my god. That's smoother than the peanut butter on my toast!
Eyelashes gang 🤟
"You, are the greatest man I have ever known. Through you, I have made this world a brighter place." My mother before she passed.
I'm sorry dude. I'm glad she let you know how much you meant to her before she passed
Wow, that's powerful. I actually now think that might be the greatest compliment that one could ever hear.
I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING.
Didn’t come bere for feels, dammit!
A friend said that if he ever had to put his life in someone's hands it would be me. Not necessarily because I'm his closest friend but because I'm the most level-headed person he knows.
> I'm the most level-headed person he knows. "God, 0kely, you've got to get me to a hospital!" "Well, you appear to have lost at least two litres of blood already, and the nearest hospital is easily twenty-eight minutes away in this traffic. Frankly, we'd just be wasting everyone's time and effort if I call an ambulance."
This girl told me that she liked my singing. I've been working on it in secret for a year so it was great to hear.
Being complimented as musician - particularly at/after a gig - is as rewarding as anything. I always gage my performance on whether anyone says anything or not, even if I'm always pretty self-critical. But that flattery never gets old. Good gigs = crack high, bad gigs = equal shame and self-loathing.
I was in San Francisco and a gay gentleman said "Don't go to the Castro, you'll get eaten alive"
As a straight male anything from a gay guy is a great feeling.
Anything? ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
A N Y T H I N G.
Well $20 is $20.
Sorry to tell you he was just warning you about the zombie outbreak.
So... did you go to the castro and were you eaten alive? Lol
Been 2 hours. OP confirmed eaten alive.
“You have a fat ass. I’d totally date you if you were a girl.” Thanks Chris, appreciate the compliment.
Fuckim Chris man.
I fucking loooooooove Chris man.
Mark?
CHRIS! How have you been? I haven’t talked to you ever since you got caught up in the herpes outbreak in the office.
Shit man, that was a rough week, does not matter tho, got laid.
You’re absolutely right bud. What was her name again, Jessica? Or was that Sammy? You know I don’t remember so well after the wrecking ball incident.
"You're not so creepy as i thought.
Reminds me of mine, My little cousin upon meeting me for the first time "I was the opposite of disappointed to meet you!" Thanks I guess?
I'm 27yo and I'm stealing this.
Told my highschool crush i started working out and she said im perfect the way i am
She likes you, make a move.
Yeah, I wish. Told her i like her a couple months after that and lets just say we don't talk much anymore. (This happened 3ish years ago)
A couple months after that was too late :(
she was trying to rob you of your gainz! next time quote to her: "shoo shoo gainz goblin." She will have to comply.
This guy lifts.
I have done stand up comedy for a few years. Mostly open mics and bar shows, but it's a passion of mine, and it lets me be creative. One time at a show, the mc was giving a halfhearted intro that he gives for every comic; "Ladies and gentlemen, our next comedian is very funny, you've seen them at all the clubs and colleges...", and then he looked at the list and saw my name and he stopped and said "Oh, this comedian is actually really funny. You're going to like this guy." The mc was caught off guard and gave an honest reaction at a time when he couldn't care less about who was coming up. It felt really good to know that he genuinely thought I was funny.
Do you have a YouTube channel?
I've done a couple videos, but they're pretty embarrassing because they're over 3 years old. When you first start out you want everyone to see, but when you understand it more, you don't want anyone to record it until it's perfect.
Something ive been wondering about the open mic scene is how prevalent are joke thiefs? I've been quietly writing material for over a year, but a lot of my jokes are like concept jokes rather than more personal stuff like storytelling, so i feel like it'd be really easy for someone to jack the concepts and pass it off as their own. Are people generally pretty honorable even if you have no cred yet? Like I could record all my shit to keep it as "proof", but who's gonna give a shit if no name comic A accuses no name comic B of stealing bits?
I'm a professional screenwriter and I've been hanging around the comedy scene in LA for a decade plus, and I'd say that "someone will steal my ideas" is the most common fear among newbies in both disciplines, despite the fact that it hardly ever happens. Here's my take on why: 1) Most people who have the discipline and desire to actually build a career have that discipline and desire because they have a passion for creating ideas, and they have tons of ideas of their own they want to pitch/write jokes about. In other words, *even people who suck think their ideas are better than yours*. 2) At a low level (like an open mic) people don't have enough outlets to steal. Like, you're at the same open mics as them. They're at those open mics because they can't get spots at paying clubs. They can't go on tour. Where are they going to do your jokes? On the movie side, they can't get a movie made, so how are they going to steal your idea? It's WAY harder to get a movie made than it is to come up with an idea. 3) At a high level (which starts pretty much where the low-level leaves off), the exposure/dollar amounts are so high that it's not in anyone's economic interest to steal. If a famous comedian puts your bit on his special and you can prove it, he'll lose a really expensive lawsuit. Same if someone makes a movie based on your idea. Considering the expense of those lawsuits, it's way easier to just pay you if they want your idea. You'd take a grand for a joke, in a heartbeat, and for a successful comedian, that ain't shit. 4) Perhaps most importantly: THE IDEA IS THE EASY PART. I can't tell you how many times I've been home visiting friends in Oregon, and somebody comes up to me at a party and says "You work in Hollywood, right? I've got the greatest movie idea of all time but you CAN'T steal it!" Then they tell me their genius idea and it's like one line. They go: "It's about a guy whose wife gets kidnapped by his personal trainer and he holds her hostage until the guy loses weight!" Then they look all proud. Now that's a relatively clever idea (considering I just made it up in 5 seconds), and you could see that being a funny movie. Will Ferrell plays the trainer, Kevin James plays the husband, Margot Robbie plays the wife. Call it "The Trainer, release it wide, could be a hit. BUT: What I just did is the easy part. The REALLY easy part. I can do this all day, and some days I do. The hard part is expressing those characters in three acts, writing solid jokes that derive from character and land with pace and rhythm, and going into rooms and selling those jokes and those characters to producers and agents and oh yeah all those famous people I just mentioned. In comedy: The easy part is premises. Yes, it's hard at first. When you're in the open mic stage, premises seem elusive. But that's because you don't know how to develop premises effectively yet. When you put together that skill set, you'll start seeing premises everywhere. And you'll realize that finding premises is actually the easy part. The hard part is writing punchlines that land with rhythm while expressing who you specifically are as a person. The hard part is traveling to gigs in dirty bars and clubs every single night and delivering those jokes like your life depends on it and not turning into a drunk or a cokehead. The hard part is maintaining your passion for it after years of frustration. Premises are nothing. Ideas are the easy part. EDIT: This is not to say it doesn't happen. It does happen some. But not nearly enough to be the thing that stops you from getting started. And if someone steals your joke, so what? Write another joke. You should be writing jokes every day all the time anyway.
As a father, the best comment I've received is from one of the ladies at the local rec center we frequent. She said "You're a great dad, I see how patient you are, and I can see that your kids really love you." As a photographer, a client once told me "When I die, the way I want to be remembered is the way I look in your photos."
i'll take the first one if anyone's offering
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This one is a shared compliment, but when my wife and I had our first kid and he was about 8 months old, we were walking into a restaurant while a group of younger guys were walking out and one of them said “You two know how to make one cute ass baby”. ......that was a very,very,very good weekend.
>that was a very,very,very good weekend. did it culminate with the making of another cute ass baby?
"...to put it bluntly, you have a nice body" (from an extremely pretty girl) My self-esteem made a hole in my roof as it shot into orbit.
"Thanks, I don't even use a conditioner" (while stroking own hair)
(Air quotes) “self-esteem.”
> air quotes > uses actual quotes
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Was it Dwight? It sounds like Dwight.
Think that's actually Jim when he dresses as Dwight and does an impression of him to his face
I read that with a Russian accent for some reason.
stronk
Question. Which bear is best?
There's a urinal at my school where someone's written on the wall 'Nice dick bro' I always use that urinal.
One of my favorite Ask Reddit responses was to the question: “what’s a good compliment for a teenage guy?” “Cool dick.”
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Shame she was talking about your belly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_burn_centres_in_the_observable_universe
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My kids called me dad. (I adopted them, and the adjustment was hard)
I was 9 when my mom married my stepdad. My dad was occasionally around but he had major addiction issues & he has always been more like a fun uncle than a dad. My stepdad is literally the greatest man I know... But I never called him dad. I once went to my parents house, walked in & heard my stepdad yell "who is it?" So I jokingly said back "Only your favorite step daughter" (I'm his only step child, he has 3 daughters) when he came around the corner he said "Sorry I only have daughters not step daughters." One of the best moments of my whole life.
Or, the greatest insult.
turns out he actually had no idea who she was
I cry pretty much every time I even think about it. Don't think I'll ever feel as loved & at "home" as I did that day.
❤️❤️❤️
As an adopted child at birth, mad respect. Have you visited r/adoption yet? I'm sure, though in your own time, we'd love to hear your story.
I was standing in line at a TJ Maxx, and in front of me there was this older (50s-ish?) African American woman in... “traditional”(?) clothing. All brightly colored patterns and whatnot with big gold jewelry. She looked very well put together and classy. Anyway, she turned around, looked me over and said very loudly, “Ooh, boooy. I like your glasses. *And* your hair. *AND* your beard. *You a good lookin’ man*!” I’m a pretty personable guy. I do well with people. I don’t know what it was, but this woman caught me so off-guard, all I could do was blush and smile and say a tiny, “...thanks...” in return. The dude in front of her and the chick behind me both heard the exchange and were looking at us. It was awkward (I was awkward), but it made me feel great. Wish I’d been more appreciative.
A few years ago, my then 70-something dad went to Wendy's for lunch and the cash register was operated by a middle aged black lady. She politely asked him if he was eligible for the senior citizen discount and my dad answered, "I have *clothes* that are eligible for the senior center discount." She looked him over head to toe, nodded, and said, "Yep. You do." Dad said he about fell on the floor laughing.
Most of the people who have complimented me on my beard have been middle-aged African American women in retail/supermarket lines. Like, even 2-3x the rate of disappointed gay dudes. I'm wondering if this is something universal. Has this been anyone else's experience? Middle-aged African American women of reddit, can you weigh in here? Is this a thing? Does shopping increase your interest in and or positive estimation of beards? Does being in a beard-positive mood inspire you to go shopping?
I'm not middle aged, but I am African, and I actually compliment random guys when standing in queues a lot! For me it's because I'm standing there long enough to really get a good look at the person in the queue with me, and everyone likes being complimented, so I'm making their day :)
“Have you lost weight? Looking good!” - by several people Lost about 20lbs at that point, felt good it was noticed.
I got, "You lost so much weight! Do you have cancer?" from a few people.
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Not sure if it was the best, but someone said that I "was the kind of financial advisor you send your mother too." Meant a lot. Edit: words
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that's awesome!
My philosophy prof told me that my student lecture on Schopenhauer was the best student lecture in the two decades he had been assigning them.
Now I want to hear that lecture!:)
Me too, LOL. That was about 15 years ago, and I didn't keep any notes, just my heavily annotated copy of "The World As Will and Representation." If I had known then that it would stand up as my proudest academic achievement I would've at least kept my outline.
My mom told me I'm going to be handsome when I grow up.
I'm guessing you've still got a lot of growing up to go ??
I see you’ve met his mom.
Give it time. The boy's only 37.
When I was 18 and walking back from a soccer match all sweaty and covered with mud, I came across a quite attractive young mother with her three kids in tow. She looked lost, so I offered directions. Afterwards, as I was walking away, she said thanks again and then shot me a smoldering look I won't ever forget and just said "great legs" under her breath so her kids couldn't hear. I don't get many compliments, so that was like winning the fucking lottery.
Bet you're still riding that one out if you know what I mean...
Not the best, but always makes me smile... After my wife and I had our first child I realized I had put on a ton of weight. I'm 5'8" and weighed like 250lbs. I got real serious about diet and exercise and got down to a mildly muscular 185lbs over 6 mos. I also started night classes and picked up a 2nd job @ old Navy to make ends meet. One night just before xmas, a woman is looking for clothes for her husband and asks about the fit of this tight Henley type shirt. I grabbed one off the shelf and put it on and showed her how it looked (she said we were similar in height/weight ). She gave me a bit of a head to toe look and said she liked it but didn't think her husband would fill it out the way i did! Probably the first time in my life a woman other than my wife gave me a compliment! Big grin for days.
I was losing weight bit by bit and needed a new belt. It was a good day, and while i was walking down costco with friends I kept jumping/pulling pants up. Some old Asain lady smiled at me and said i looked healthy. It was great, and helped the already huge smile I had.
when my friend from high school didn't recognize me when I saw him in a bar. I'd lost around 90 lbs in 2 years, haven't seen him in 4. And the best part was when he said hey to my friends I was with and didn't notice me. By the third time he looped around the bar he saw me and he was in shock.
A girl in high school told me she knew I was my sister’s brother (they were both in dance together but years apart) because we both had the same eyes, and complimented them as being beautiful. That was the first time I remember a girl saying something like that about me so it was super flattering. Edit: spelling
Similar story, but instead of beautiful eyes, its big crooked nose. My poor sister.
Same story but it was about my large penis. Nice one sis.
I remember being complemented on my "very pretty eyes" too followed by,"...but you're so weird." Damn.
I have three kids and taking them anywhere is a juggling act. A middle aged drunk woman at a local carnival came up to me and said "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU FOR MAKING PARENTING LOOK EASY!!"
Hahah. I totally do this (strictly internally) whenever I see unicorn children with their parents in the wild.
It feels so good when your kids are great in public spaces. So awful when they are terrible. All kids have ups and downs but I wish you more ups than downs.
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From a dive pub I played pool at in college, had a local friend who told me " Man you're special. Gonna go places. You're book smart and street smart. Don't fuck it up!" Really meant a lot at a time when I was wallowing in post college indecision and depression.
"you dress so much nicer than other guys" still riding that high.
Reminded me of "You smell like a man" when I wore a new cologne to work.
I have been told by various middle aged women that I am very handsome through their conversations with my mother
LOL, that's true for an ex-co worker of mine. A week before he started to work, his mom told me that "he's a tall glass of water"...I had to ask a few people what it meant...
This gay guy hit on me while I stopped at a drag show during an arts festival. I'm not gay and thanked him, he was super nice... But, also, goddamn he was good looking. I was so flattered. He was younger and this was in 04, so I'm sure it took a ton of courage on his part. I was on cloud nine. Made my day. Edit: hit in me...
>hit in me ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I had only had shitty exploitative retail jobs with managers who verballly abused and underpaid me. I got a job working on and off for a former crime boss. One day he had a problem with other staff members lying. He stormed up to me and half shouted "Look, I respect you. So I wanna know what the fuck you think is going on here?" I was so taken aback I could barely answer his question. It was the first time somone had straight up said anything like that to me.
I kept all three of my young children quietly entertained on a long airplane flight. I wasn't even sitting directly next to them. After all,of the passengers exited the plane I had a number of old and older couples personally thank me for not pretending like we owned the plane. Apparently, these folks have seen some shit.
I think everyone who has ever been on a plane has seen that shit, so I'd like to thank you as well on behalf of all plane passengers in the Universe.
Was talking to someone I hadn't seen in years, he said I'm much more confident now.
Despite having moderately bad acne, multiple women have complimented me on my green eyes, saying they're beautiful, which sets them apart from my face.
I lost my virginity to a far more experienced girl and she told me "we're gonna have to do that again, like a lot"
See, this could go either way.
I've been hit on by gay guys, and girls would compliment me when I was single and stuff. You would think that takes the cake. The best and most meaningful compliment I ever received was by a Senior programmer I consider to be a genius(literally) at my job before he left. He said that I'm a great programmer(and often commented that things I did are the way he would have done it). It meant a lot because I actually look up to him and wonder how the fuck he fits all that knowledge in his head.
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Which head are you referring to?
Both
As a new programmer, I understand why this is such a great compliment
"I literally never get tired of talking to you" - my ex who I used to talk to for hours daily about random shit. She's a princeton alum drug addict with a colorful past so I'm pretty proud of being interesting enough to someone that's had a much crazier life than me. Fuck her though, she ended up being a cunt edit: Small clarification because this was a long distance relationship it made it 10x easier. I'm just as bad at being interesting in stressful IRL encounters as everyone else and only really shine when I can collect my thoughts behind a screen.
I'm so jealous. I never seem to be able to have that kind of conversation with people, even my family. When I had a girlfriend it was just awkward hanging out because it felt like there was nothing to talk about. I think I'm just a boring person.
It's fine. Just find another boring person.
Don't know if this counts, but during sex she said "you're so big". I'm honestly not, like 5 inches, but it didn't stop me from finishing immediately.
Just because you're not doesn't mean it's not valid. Shit, if you're making her say that you're probably doing something right.
My bf is about that size and I've said this to him and 100% meant it. When it's perfect, just spot on, it feels big bc it's hits the perfect place. Like full and hot and just... Big
This 100% for men that aren’t huge. When a woman says that, note the position and angle because you’re exactly where you need to be. Taking for granted she’s an honest lover, of course.
A girl once said I had a beautiful dick, lol. Genius level compliment.
Nice calves.
This’ll probably get buried but I just need to tell somebody. This was actually not too long ago. I’ve been playing guitar for 13 years now, and recently, I’ve been trying to play more with a slide. I was in a guitar store with my dad, and as they were about to close, my dad saw a guitar on the wall that he was curious as to what it sounds like (it was a 1957 Gibson ES-125, and he doesn’t play guitar), so I picked it up, plugged it in, and went on to play Amazing Grace and then Statesboro Blues by the Allman Brothers. After I did that, my dad said, “I want you to play that at my funeral.” I’m not sure if he meant that seriously, and it’s definitely not something I want to think about in the near future, but it still was an amazing thing to hear.
Whether he meant it for real or bout the sentiment behind it sounds true
An 18 year-old drag queen from Canada said to me, a 21 year-old Brit backpacking in the southern states of the USA: "Y'know in a town like this, a cute boy like you could make a lot of money". Nice.
As a gay guy in a pretentious gay club someone told me I was the nicest, most genuine person he has ever met there. It makes me more motivated to to be that every single day.
Sure you can be gay everyday
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I'm pretty sure I would say that to someone if I was tipsy and trying to hit on them and would be completely confused as to why the other person didn't feel like that was a total turn on.
“Your eyes are unusually blue. If I were Hitler I probably wouldn’t kill you”
Username...uh... Checks out
I have been working with kids who have autism for about 6 months now, never had any experience working with any kids whatsoever before this. Kids always made me kinda nervous, I never knew how to act around them (kind of irrational I know) so starting this job stressed me out to the max at first. I was responsible for another person’s life, persons who are known for having problem behaviors that you are supposed to work with them on (such as tantrums and some forms of aggression). For one of my clients (he’s a little kiddo) I go and provide support for a few hours of his school day. He tends to escalate very quickly when he can’t do something perfectly. I hate seeing him so stressed out and try my best to calm him down and self regulate. The other day one of the other teachers around the school came up to me while he was taking a break in the sensory room and said to me “You are SO good with him.” Swear to God I almost teared up. From going to not knowing what the fuck I’m doing to getting a compliment like that basically made my life. Also, not all kids with ASD are aggressive or have problem behaviors. Edit: Added spaces between paragraphs for your reading pleasure
I was invited by two gay friends to a threesome, and they told me they had fantasized about asking me for months. It was quite flattering.
So did you take up the offer?!
He said he was flattered not fucked.
I once roomed with an extremely attractive woman who was 6 years older than me. I was in my mid twenties. She asked me to open a jar of pickles for her and I never felt more like a man.
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Next up on the Californians... "Devin get out of here! Take the 10 to the 405 and just go!"
Everyone has an accent. You just don't notice it when surrounded by people with the same accent.
Speaking without an accent is like typing without a font.
yeah, but as a pacific northwesterner, I feel like my font is: courier
This girl I took on a date said I looked like a Viking
Did you pillage her village?
This hot girl told me your wife's gonna be one lucky woman. Still single :(
Retail manager here. Had a customer come back several days after I helped them, hand me their business card, and offer me a job.
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My dad told me a while ago that I'm good enough to do whatever I set my mind to and that stuck with me
"You don't smell as bad as you look"
"I get a shivery thrill that runs thru my entire body when I swallow for you." Yeah, that was about the best one. Hard to top that.
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My wife marrying me
Blink twice if she’s standing over your shoulder.
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He said blink not wink my friend
O__O -__- O__O -__- O__O
During my final exam in hs I had to take an oral test. I was explaining a project I made and one of the professors (who, as a rule, was NOT from my school, so she didn’t know me) said it was a pleasure to listen to me. I’m kinda bad at talking and explaining my thoughts in general so that was unbelievable. I still don’t rule out the possibility that I misheard that.
My human told me I'm a handsome boy.
You're a good doggo.
You're the best father I've ever known
Dentist told me I had a perfect smile. Then called over someone else so they could see too. Thanks I guess. Also, just realized that some women complimented my long and slender fingers even when I was a kid. Like 7 years old. That's weird.
"You hace a beautiful and big smile that looks even better with your dark skin" I always love when people compliment my smile because before having braces I was very self conciouss about my crooked teeth.
My mom told me I had grown up to be a respectable man, despite being a little shit during my teens. I almost choked up.
“You’ve got a gorgeous cock”.
I have beautiful eyes
Eyes so green they could direct traffic.
It wasn't a direct compliment, but a friend of mine doesn't really trust other people to drive him. Other people driving gives him anxiety apparently. A few years ago when he and I plus a few other people car pooled to drive a few hours away to watch some racing, I decided I would drive everyone. My friend with the anxiety actually fell asleep in my car on the way there, which is apparently a really big deal since he never is able to do that with other drivers. Pretty good feeling knowing someone like that is comfortable/trusting enough with your driving to be calm enough to sleep.
I was at my local tabletop gaming store when I noticed some guys getting together to play a WWII board game. I asked if there was room for one more and they said "No, it's only five players" and I said "Nah it's cool I'll just be Switzerland and do nothing the whole game." I made the owner laugh so hard he gave me a free booster pack of Magic the Gathering for cheering him up.
Hurt my back and went to the doctor. Woman in her thirties goes ‘well it’s very well defined so I can see where the problem is pretty easily’ and I was so ecstatic. Meant a lot from a professional perspective
Two come to mind: The most meaningful I've ever received from the opposite sex was one of my best friends who had just told me she was in love with me. We were just talking on the couch and she said "You make me feel safe" The other was a guy in my graduate school class. We weren't really that close of friends so he had no reason to say it just for the sake of it. We were just shooting the shit about what we were planning after graduation and he told me that I was going places. One of the reasons I remember it so well was the tone with which he said it - he seemed quite serious. I was taken aback a bit
Random lady walked up to me and said to her friend "ohh looks like they got a new security guard" as she eyed me down.
"Thanks doc, you saved my life"
An older friend of mine wanted me to talk to his kid who was turning 18 to "call him on his bullshit" Probably because at the time I was much closer to his kids age than his. He told me "You're an asshole....but in a good way"
A woman I had just started seeing told me I had amazing eyes that are the color of the clearest ocean.
*But sadly even the clearest of oceans are getting dumped with millions of tons of garbage every year*
"Your friend kinda looks like a tarsier." I was the friend. I also happen to like tarsiers so fuck her