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fish for a compliment

fish for a compliment {v. phr.}

To try to make someone pay a compliment.

When Jim showed me his new car, I could tell that he was fishing for a compliment.

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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms

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backhanded compliment

[backhanded compliment] {n. phr.} A remark that sounds like a compliment but is said sarcastically. * /"Not bad for a girl" the coach said, offering a backhanded compliment./ A Dictionary of American Idioms

return the compliment

[return the compliment] {v. phr.} To say or do the same to someone that he has said or done to you; pay someone back. * /Mary said, "I love your […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

left-handed compliment

[left-handed compliment] An ambiguous compliment which is interpretable as an offense. * /I didn't know you could look so pretty! Is that a wig you're wearing?/ A Dictionary of American Idioms

compliment

[compliment] See: [RETURN THE COMPLIMENT]. A Dictionary of American Idioms

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