“What Words/Phrases Do You Hear Someone Say And Immediately Know You’re Probably Not Going To Like The Person?” (50 Answers)
We’ve all got pet peeves. Some people will smack anyone who starts chewing with their mouth open, and others might already be on their way home if a date shows up 5 minutes late. But there are also plenty of things people can say to make their potential friendships instantly go up in flames.
Someone recently asked Reddit users to share words and phrases that alert them that they won't like a person, and readers did not hold back. Below, you’ll find a variety of statements that people can't stand, so enjoy learning what not to say upon meeting someone, and be sure to upvote the phrases that you consider to be red flags as well!
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Anything that involves "god's will"
As a Christian (lol considering this article's title), I've always hated the use of that phrase. I do believe in God's will, but it shouldn't be used as a replacement for loving and serving a person, and definitely not as an excuse that a person "got what they deserved". God's will could be many things but it will always involve loving and caring for other human beings (and yourself)
Describes himself as an Alpha Male. Tells you implausible stories about how tough he is/how many women he's "Banged". Yeah, me an you gonna fall out soon buddy
Alpha and beta humans do not exist. It's simply an excuse for some to engage in and justify their toxic behaviors.
Anyone who is rude to waitstaff.
Been on a few dates where potential partners treated the waiter/waitress like garbage.
Instant dislike and termination of the date.
Boys will be boys
I hate this one with a burning passion. Same with 'Boys don't cry'
“People don’t like me because I tell it like it is”
"We're a family here" in a work setting. Mother f****r you just laid off "cousin" Bill.
“Do your own research.” Quickly became the mantra of some of the most misinformed and ignorant people on the planet.
I hope somebody teaches those people about burden of proof fallacy
"Men are logical/analytical, and women are emotional."
That's one of the most inaccurate statements I keep hearing every time I listen to a certain type of people on certain videos/podcasts.
"Ugh I hate cats"
I can't trust someone who says that. People who hate cats, really hate cats. To the point of abuse.
“No offense, but…”, just before saying the most offensive thing you’ve heard in your life.
"It's all a part of god's plan"
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” - Epicurus
You should smile more 🙄
I find grinning widely while maintaining intense eye contact and tilting my head sideways generally makes them retract that statement.
"i have no problem with the gays, just keep it away from me"
“I’m so bipolar” to explain why they are indecisive or to play off poor life choices. Or just to say to sound quirky. Really hate that. I’m bipolar and rarely tell anyone.
I'm bipolar and hate this trend. Having a mental illness isn't fun, cute, quirky, or an excuse for bad behavior. You don't want to know what it's really like being bipolar.
Women who say “I only have guy friends” which is usually followed by something like “women always bring drama / women are usually bitches / women can’t handle how real I am / women are always jealous of me.”
ETA: Yeah, it’s great having guy friends, but the problem is women who view other women as the enemy.
"Why isn't there a white history month" I'm not even huge into politics, but this says a lot about someone to me
If a person humiliates others for the sake of boosting his own ego, I immediately stop communicating with that person.
"Sheeple" As soon as I hear it I tune out everything else they have to say
I just assume they're trying to summon an ancient Eldritch species of sheep-people to usher in the Apocalypse. This ends up being more interesting than what they were actually trying to say, and generally more coherent as well.
"oh, that's such typical [star sign] behaviour"
I’m a cancer, we’re supposed to be sensitive (which I am) so it really hurts my feelings when people say that!
I believe in the Bible as historical fact
Woke.
This one gets so annoying to see. And it's always used by freaking bigots
"If you can't handle me at my worst you don't deserve me at my best"
“I just say what everyone else is thinking”. Describing someone as an “alpha” “sigma” “beta”, or calling women “females”
Depends on context: if I say Andrew Tate is an insecure b***h that tries to hide it behind his aLPhA mAlE image is exactly what everyone is thinking. Btw, is he's still in jail? Has he spread his alphaism among his fellow inmates?
“Let’s go Brandon”
On a positive note, there was a new story about a young Autistic boy, named Brandon, who was nervous about his vacation in Texas. Until he saw all the "Let's go Brandon" signs which cheered him on. https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/8-year-old-boy-with-autism-puts-new-spin-on-lets-go-brandon-chants
"Yes but you know there's worst" everytime you have an issue. Denying the pain of someone isn't helping them at all. Yes other have it worst, but at day D, hour H, I want to talk about my feeling and feel heard and seen. I want solutions or I want help or I want someone to b***h about the subject / person which / who is sensitive topic for me. Not thinking about others. That's not being selfish, that's destressing, and if you can't find a solution at least outing bad vibes.
Worse. I thought i was a typo the first time, but then it was repeated.
"My ex was a narcissist". I didn't hear this nearly as often until the last year or so. Now suddenly everyone has had an ex that was a narcissist. I work in the behavioral health field and this one drives me crazy.
Like no, just because you both wanted different things in life doesn't make him selfish enough to be labeled with an actual *personality disorder,* ***oh my god.*** Just say you weren't compatible and move on with your life.
No offense to those who actually did genuinely date a narcissist.
"As a straight, white, cisgender person..."
Ma'am this a Wendy's.
"oh im compelled to do this totally normal activity because my OCD/adhd/bipolar is kicking in!"
people who will insert, “well if trump was still in office…” in every single conversation despite having nothing to do with politics
Got my shirt for x amount, my shoes for y amount type of people. You paid way more than normal people for stuff that's not something to brag about. Also do you really have no innate worth that you have to toss around price tags to attract people's attention.
People who lie/brag about their IQ. In my experience they seem like the dumbest people.
"I'm a -insert star sign- so that's why I'm (being a c**t)"
I'm a Cantaloupe and my ex was an Asparagus so clearly we were not compatible.
I had this new coworker who I didn’t have to work with, but could have made both of our jobs easier. He didn’t even need to say anything. At the first morning meeting he had a Daily Wire coffee mug that said, “this cup is filled with liberal tears.”
Yeah, no thanks dude. I don’t need your help with anything.
Or anyone whose worldview distills every situation into 'them and us'.
"All men are trash"
if men said all women are trash they do be acting like they're abt to start a war on twitter. i dont like it when people say something bad about the opposite gender,with "all"
"I hate drama." I have never heard someone say this, unsolicited, and not been exhausted with their shenanigans within a day.
If a high school student said it referring to one of their classes, that wouldn’t be too bad.
"As an ENFP/ISTJ/JKDSAJKHSDF/other alphabet soup personality test baloney..."
"snowflakes", "woke", or "unbeknownst".
Especially unbeknownst, I hate that word more than is reasonable to acknowledge.
"Tough love" often seems to be used as an excuse to be a d**k. I get it when it's like an intervention, but most times I've personally heard it this was just people who wanted to start s**t.
“Everything happens for a reason.”
Nah that’s just a b******t platitude you tell yourself because thinking the world operates on logic and reason is a coping mechanism for avoiding the reality that the world is unfair, unpredictable and bad things happen to good people all the time.
Anyone older who says "back in my day...you younger people don't know what hard work is..." Anything like that as if they couldn't buy a house on minimum wage and go to college without crippling debt. I personally graduated debt free thanks to scholarships but the older generations seem to not understand the wage/cost disparity between their generation and younger generations.
"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers." ... according to Socrates, who lived between 469 and 399 B.C. (before Christ = before year "0"). When used mockingly, it is okay. The world is changing so fast, so every young generation faces new struggles that should be taken seriously by the more experienced generations.
specifically anyone who refers to the covid as "the rona". i hate you.
If they refer to themself as a brand.
Anything involving crystal healing, essential oils doing more than just smelling nice, or projecting one's dreams into reality. I forget the exact term for the third thing, at this moment.
If any one of those things come up in conversation and you're being serious about it, I automatically don't trust you completely. If multiple are a part of your personality, I don't trust you at all.
I use the stress relief aromatherapy. Is that the same thing as the essential oils? Cus mine is the mint and eucalyptus and it is calming but idk if that counts as essential oils in what the OP is meaning
When talking about someone favorite sports team and they use the word "we". What did you do to contribute to the team.
This is a well-documented and studied phenomenon studied in the social sciences. It is VERY common to hear this when the team is winning, but when the team is losing, it becomes "what are THEY doin?" or "how could THEY lose?"
"I removed one of your kidneys while you were unconscious."
I don't get this one. I can't think of a situation where I could tell a person I've removed one of their kidneys
Where’s my huuuuug?
Immediately no.
I work in construction and am gay. I think construction workers are the only ones who still say 'that's gay' about anything bad. So, any of those guys
To play devil’s advocate… proceed to argue for some unhinged sociopathic s**t…
Just say you hate every damn person on this planet and leave us alone.
Sometimes, Devil's Advocate arguments are needed. Needless, unhinged one not so much.
The gratuitous "God Bless"
The Southern "Bless Your Heart" Fu "how ya gonna bad bless" Comedian Anjelah Johnson 😂 Been saying this daily since watching her new You Tube Special. ❣️
"stop being weird"
“You’re talking too much” when I’m being quiet just chilling
"meat is murder"
I dont Care if you wanna eat Grass, but try to take away my steak And Ill bite ya
LITERALLY.
Like, literally
You know what your problem is don't you?
“Irregardless” or “It is what it is”
"It is what it is" is my way of reminding myself that there's not much I can control outside of my own behavior. "Irregardless" makes me cringe because my high school English teacher lost her s**t when a student would say it.
Anyone using words like "literally", "toxic" or "problematic" in every other sentence. It's like these words have lost all meaning.
Engagement, initiative…any kind of “group speak” that sounds like the corporate marketing manager plagiarized…
Let's take this convo offline and caucus about it and see if we can find out whether it is what it is.
“I’m the type of person thaaaat…” You always know it gonna be followed by some egotistical b******t. Ex: If you cross me I’ll cut you off real quick, don’t f**k with me.”
"it's none of my biz, but..."
"wambulance"
I've never heard anyone use that term who wasn't a flaming douchebag.
Friend: They made my latte wrong and now my whole day is going to be off. Me: Poor thing. Do I need to call the wambulance?? Basically means you’re being overly dramatic. Do I need to call an ambulance for you? Waaaa 🥲 + ambulance 🚑
Anyone who uses the phrase "are you/they on crack?" in response to a joke. Makes them seem very judgmental and like they have almost no sense of humor. Plus it makes it awkward for everyone.
Referring to something being "shoved down our throats". I've found it to be a red flag for reactionary/narcissistic/conspiratorial thinking.
Sorry, but I disagree. Just me personally. If someone is pushing something on me aggressively, I say they are trying to shove it down my throat.
“Say it louder for the ones in the back “…
but what if its in a literall context such as having to speak louder for the people in the back to hear bc im hella quiet
For me it’s not words or phrases. It’s tone.
If they sound stressed or panicked or impatient over a small issue, I immediately know they’re a chore to deal with.
For example, you toss trash in the bin, miss. Go to pick it up, and they jump on you for littering.
Bit of a snap judgment this one. You never know what other problems people are dealing with. The person who's sounding panicky may have a family member in hospital and they're desperately trying to get through the day at work so they can go visit them.
“Normalize”
I used to work on databases. Normalise is a pretty common word to use.
« I’m vegan »
I think *you're* the one displaying the 'red flag' behavior here. Unless they're being pushy about it or something, why the f**k do you care if they're vegan?
"I'm on the spectrum"
"Stop enforcing gender norms"
"LETS F*****G GOOOOO!"
"That's so f*****g cringe"
"Donald Trump was the best president ever"
"Donald Trump was the worst president ever"
"Sex and gender are a social construct"
"Capitalism is destroying the world"
Until black lives matter, not all lives matter
Load More Replies...Some of these are legit, but for the most part my opinion is that y'all just don't like people.
Using the size of someone penis as an insult - especially common with women who really don’t like being asked if they’re being such a b-tch cause they’ve a c**t the size of a bucket? (How the tables have turned). Simple rule - don’t attack someone on something they can’t change!
I think that if you're a male and insult a woman first by calling her a b***h or c**t, you deserve to have your penis ridiculed.
Load More Replies...Until black lives matter, not all lives matter
Load More Replies...Some of these are legit, but for the most part my opinion is that y'all just don't like people.
Using the size of someone penis as an insult - especially common with women who really don’t like being asked if they’re being such a b-tch cause they’ve a c**t the size of a bucket? (How the tables have turned). Simple rule - don’t attack someone on something they can’t change!
I think that if you're a male and insult a woman first by calling her a b***h or c**t, you deserve to have your penis ridiculed.
Load More Replies...