We Scots are not big on gushing compliments.**

Giving or receiving, compliments make us uncomfortable. We’ve been hard-wired with intuitive distrust – an inbuilt suspicion that anyone saying something nice about us, is after something.

We will pass compliments on occasion, but do so grudgingly. In fact, so reluctant are we to praise and elevate the stature of others, we qualify the praise by preceding it with the word ‘quite.’

“That was quite good …”
“Mmnn – that meal you prepared was quite tasty.”
“You look quite nice in that dress …” (Generally speaking, a bloke will only utter this once.)

The other tactic we employ to evade the awkwardness of complimenting, is to focus on the negative,

“Aye, you played no’ bad today” my dad would say when I returned home from football.
“That meal was no’ bad” we’ll say after visiting the most expensive restaurant in town.

Thank goodness the people of other countries are a bit more relaxed about the whole issue of compliments. It is nice to be the recipient of some unfiltered, positive feedback.

We may shuffle our feet awkwardly, tilt our heads, smile and mutter,
“Aaw, shucks. It was nothing, really,” but even us Scots do, deep down, appreciate the thoughtfulness of others.

The best compliment I’ve received?

When I published my first book, ‘Damp Dogs & Rabbit Wee,’ I was truly blown away by the kind words that were posted on Amazon.
(Click on the images to enlarge them.)

Compliments from people in other countries; people I’d never met; comments comparing my writing to that of a famous author – now that was quite good.

No’ bad, in fact.

😉

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