The Stupid Things People (Me Included) Say.

Have you ever said something - only to realize how stupid, hurtful or offensive it might have been at a later time? Or even immediately?

Yesterday I was joking around with my boss telling him that he was becoming very 'bossy'. My boss is on the shorter side.. probably 5'5" or so, but a totally great guy. I meant to compare him to a famous dictator and wound up saying "You are like a mini-Napoleon'. He was like "Okay - Napoleon is one thing... but a MINI Napoleon? I didn't think you could get much shorter than he was!" I felt like such an IDIOT. He wasn't mad.. but I just felt so stupid and I apologized but he was having too much fun enjoying my discomfort.

My husband was super skinny his whole life. He started working out when he was 14 so that he could gain some weight - and he has a lean, athletic body now but he will NEVER be big - he just isn't built for bulk. Even though he knows this - it is a sore spot for him and he still works out 5 times a week. One day I commented on his 'cute chicken legs' - only to have him OBSESSED about his legs for months.

I know I can't possibly be the only one who drops a stinker without thinking every now and then. So what kinds of things have you said or heard others say?

Do you get really and truly offended when someone says something dumb? Or do you take it with a grain of salt? Do apologies help?

Re: The Stupid Things People (Me Included) Say.

Here is my foot-in-mouth moment...

When workinng at the hotel, a couple came in with a redheaded baby. I said how cute the baby was and joking around I said "well, maybe your redhead will look like me when she grows up". The parents gave me a look and said "I hope not, he is a "



There is nothing you can do to go back on it. You tried to be light-hearted and it didn't work in your favor this time. Laugh at YOURSELF and everyone will feel more comfortable

Message edited 5/10/2008 8:13:56 AM.

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dont worry i do it all the time!

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My worst one was when I told my sister, "You have legs you can walk" in front of my Uncle who had to have his leg amputated I felt like a piece of sh*t

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This week I told a woman on the train she had something on her face. It looked like newspaper print. She said it was a birthmark.

PSA: If you're around me & have a headline imprinted on your forehead, from now on you're on your own.

eta. I also once photoshopped out zit on a photo of my friend's sister. It was a mole. That wasn't so bad because she said she told me after seeing the pictures, she finally saw what she looks like without it & wants to get it removed.

Message edited 6/2/2014 3:11:59 PM.

Re: The Stupid Things People (Me Included) Say.

Oh yes, happens to me all the time... I think I try to be funny and it just usually comes out all wrong. I move on.

About a month or so ago, my DH was napping on the couch, and when he got up, he had major case of bedhead. I jokingly said to him "Wow, I can see a lot of scalp (meaning a bald spot)", and he flew off the handle about how he's not going bald and he has a lot of hair and how his barber tells him all the time he will have hair his whole life.....

Ok, seriously, I beg to differ, but I am keeping my mouth SHUT from now on about his hair!

Re: The Stupid Things People (Me Included) Say.

This post made me LOL!
Just yesterday,
I complemented a mom at the park, saying her little girl was adorable,,,
she said Thanks, but he's a boy!

When I was working there was a
real- estate office on the floor above
mine, and from time to time I would
see a woman who worked there who was pregnant....

one day we got on the elevator together and I congratulated her and asked when she was due....

she stared at me for a second ,
then told me she had the baby 4 months ago!
OMG! it was the longest, quietest ride up to the 2nd floor!

Re: The Stupid Things People (Me Included) Say.

Posted by chmlengr

Oh yes, happens to me all the time... I think I try to be funny and it just usually comes out all wrong. I move on.

About a month or so ago, my DH was napping on the couch, and when he got up, he had major case of bedhead. I jokingly said to him "Wow, I can see a lot of scalp (meaning a bald spot)", and he flew off the handle about how he's not going bald and he has a lot of hair and how his barber tells him all the time he will have hair his whole life.....

Ok, seriously, I beg to differ, but I am keeping my mouth SHUT from now on about his hair!

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i can't think of an example right now...
but I DO THIS ALL THE TIME!

oh, i do remember one.

we were visiting my grandmother in the dom rep. and someone mentioned "the little old ladies at church" (mind you, my grandmother is a devout catholic) i said something to the effect: "they're always in church because they know death is near and their trying to make up for all the sinning they did in their youth"

grandma quietly sat there. i didn't realize what i had said until my mom told me (later) how sad my grandmother looked after i said that.

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I was hanging out with my friend years ago. We were talking about something and I said...If I had to do something like that, I think I'd shoot myself.

I cringed and said sorry...I totally forgot that her brother shot himself years ago.

I had just gotten out of the hospital a week ago and I was with my new baby and my dh. We went to a deli after my doctor's appointment and the guy behind the counter asked me how old my son was. I was like 1 week old and he said...and you're pregnant again?

I stared at him and said...no.

Idiot. I cried in the car afterwards and my dh was so piissed.

Message edited 5/10/2008 11:06:25 AM.

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Because I know at any give moment I am capable of saying the stupidest things imaginable, I pretty much keep my mouth shut!

I never compliment parents (or grandparents) on their specific gendered kid unless I know that:

A - the parent is actually the parent

B - the grandparent is actually the grandparent (and not the mom/dad)

C 0- the boy is actually a boy, girl actually a girl

And don't even get me started on pregnancy. The woman could be in labor, and unless she is actually saying - I'm in labor, I'm pregnant, I'm having a baby, etc, I keep my moron mouth shut.

And marks on the face? I always think it could be some bizarre religious holiday somewhere that has someone wearing pizza sauce on their face....


I err on the side of caution 24-7

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I had a major foot-in-mouth moment last weekend with a friend.

She is stressing because her first son is about 18 months old and is really not speaking much yet.

She was saying how the doctor was recommending early intervention.

I was like "well when is it normal for boys to start talking anyways".........I felt immediately horrible because I felt like it implied that her son was not......

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DH has these moments from time to time - not too much but sometimes - he gets it from his Mama LOL! B/C my MIL tends to have these moments A LOT. I have in the past but I can't think of any specific stories right now - it happens... you can't beat yourself up about it b/c you didn't do it with malicious intent - A lot of times when those things happen you never mean what you are saying and then once you say it it sounds SO bad.

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I just did this last night.

I was instant messaging my sister and she asked me what I was doing. So I told her that I was opening some mothers day cards I received in the mail.
She said that was nice. So then the dummy in me said " Yes it is, especially since I didn't expect anything this year because every time DH gets extra money there is always someone around with their hand out"

Sound innocent enough except for the fact that my sister had called my DH that afternoon to ask him if he can help pay some of the hall they are renting for a party. I didn't even realize what I wrote till she signed off without saying bye. I didn't even mean her I was talking about bill collectors.

Insert HUGE foot in mouth.

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The meanest thing I remember saying in recent years is when, in a heated moment, I said that someone's yard, from when they were growing up, looked like "Sanford and son". I wished I could take it back immediately, even though it was sort of true. It was just really hurtful. I apologized right away but it was already said - it just was a hurtful and mean thing to say. To someone I love especially.

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If I'm wished a happy mother's day again this weekend, I'm going to lose it on someone.