Meanings
plural left-handed compliments
- idiomaticA complimentary remark which is ambiguous or ineptly worded, so that it may be interpreted as having an unflattering or dismissive sense.
[C]alling someone a "neglected master" makes for one hell of a left-handed compliment.
2006 March 19, David Orr, “On Poetry: Samuel Menashe—New and Selected Poems”, in New York Times, retrieved 07 Oct 20132 more examples
"We have sat through the whole of dinner and not once mentioned politics." "You made us forget them," Tallente murmured. "A left-handed compliment," Jane laughed.
1921, E. Phillips Oppenheim, chapter 16, in Nobody's ManIn a somewhat left-handed compliment, UN Secretary-General U Thant described Russia's new bosses as "competent and unpretentious."
1964 October 30, “The Morning After”, in Time, retrieved 07 Oct 2013Synonyms: backhanded compliment
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA complimentary remark which is ambiguous or ineptly worded, so that it may be interpreted as having an unflattering or dismissive sense.
Cite this entry
left-handed compliment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/left-handed%20compliment
“left-handed compliment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/left-handed%20compliment. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “left-handed compliment,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/left-handed%20compliment.
Source: left-handed compliment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.