What's the most surprisingly perceptive thing anyone ever said about you?

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I once gave someone I hardly knew a lift in my car. During the journey, I said I loved driving and she said, "Yes, I knew you loved it as soon as you turned the key." I thought that was pretty amazing - to pick up on something so subtle as the way someone turns an ignition key. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

A lady in the library once told me that she knew I was a teacher from the way I interacted with my kids ( in a good way! 😁)

Someone once complimented me on my “calm aura, nothing gets to you”. I am really easy-going but thought that was pretty perceptive for an acquaintance.

At college, aged 18-19, thought I was a real party animal.

Someone told me (not apropos of nothing, it was in context ) that I was an introvert pretending to be an extrovert. I was quite offended but it turns out they were right.

No idea, 50 years later, who it was, sadly.

I can be terribly indecisive. A friend's boyfriend said when I was about 17 that I 'give myself too many options' and end up dithering. So true. I look for every incremental choice of actions and find it hard to decide rather than just weighing up the fundamental differences.

An old boss described me (as a compliment) as ‘a terrier’...what he didn’t know was that that was accurate outside of work...if I want something I will make it happen if humanly possible.

"You are both one of the cleverest and one of the stupidest people I've ever known".
It's true, I am very, very good at a few things and very, very bad at many other things.

Someone once told me that I'm a typical Virgo. I don't know anything about star signs and it annoyed me that they were right.

Someone told me (not apropos of nothing, it was in context grin) that I was an introvert pretending to be an extrovert. I was quite offended but it turns out they were right

That's an interesting one, GiantKitten. I wonder what the tiny giveaway signs were?

A few weeks ago a customer walked into my shop and we greeted each other. I asked him what he was looking for, he looked at me and said 'You're a Libra!' This was a complete stranger, someone I'd never met before - how did he know I'm a Libra?

I am a typical Libra but I wasn't sitting at my desk playing with my miniature scales of justice that day

When I was 20 I helped adjust a friends piece of cultural clothing - she said "Oh, you'd be such a good mum". It's not that I think I'm a good mum, it's just more that this is where I now know my true happiness lies over and above all else.

I am quite sure I suffered badly with undiagnosed PND for many months and no-one picked up on it, including my husband, parents (who are doctors), or friends.

I had a plumber round the other day who has done odd bits of work for us and met me for the first time when I was a new mother and has met me on maybe two or three occasions since then. And she said to me "it's lovely to see you so settled now, I remember first meeting you in your flat with your baby and you seemed so lonely" then she kind of caught herself and said "or maybe I'm wrong..." but no, she was 100% right. I was lonely. I was a mess and nobody could see it - apart from, apparently, a plumber fixing my boiler.

My manager recently said quite directly "you're scared aren't you" and he was/is absolutely right. I was coming up with all sorts of reasons as to why I should be in work and keeping my role ticking over instead of being signed off like Drs said. He said he could see it was classic avoidance. I am having a high risk pregnancy with placenta previa major and he saw through all of my nonsense. I didn't think he had it on him to be honest and I said as much to him! We have a good working relationship and for him to just understand my inner fears when I didn't want to show weakness actually made me feel stronger somehow.

I was on a course and ended up partnered with my ex's best friend. I'd barely known his friend and was a bit worried about how he'd be, as the split hadn't been amicable. For most of the day we barely spoke. After one of the tasks he said 'see, you've got the skill, just not the confidence, when you weren't thinking about it, you were fine.' And then he paused, before adding, 'which I think is you all over.' I've barely spoken to him since, as we no longer run in the same circles, but I often think it's funny how he saw straight through me when my closest friends and even my ex had never noticed.

On one of our first dates DH said "You're quite the punk aren't you"? I was a boring on the outside thirty-something with sensible glasses and a sensible job. Reader, I married him

Aw love these.

Mine is a comment from my first boss when I was 23 or so. One of our clients' offices was burgled over a weekend and the director said, 'Do you think Something might know anything about it?' and my boss defended me saying 'She really is quite loyal' and I've never forgotten that. I had an abusive childhood and at 23 was still very much mired in all of the negative fallout and that was one of the first positive comments I'd ever had.

"You don't happen to work at the hospital, do you?" Said by a stranger to me when I had helped a man who had collapsed. It was only afterwards that I realised how calmly I had dealt with the situation, all that training we have really does help and it must have shown.

SIL estimated my Baron Cohen score to within 2 points, and explained what it meant. This went a long way to accepting and dealing with my oddities.

Someone once said to me 'come on, managed, tell it like it is!'

I then realised I'm too blunt

Teacher once said I was a bit 'off the wall' which is accurate too

A work acquaintance asked if I had any children. I said no and she said she thought I was a mum and had a daughter. A year later I had my first child who was a girl!

My DH and I were being assessed, he is a quiet but confident person, I am insecure. I led the conversation and answered all of the questions through several meetings.

When the assessor came with her supervisor, the supervisor commented that I was confident and DH needed to work on speaking up. The assessor said "Actually it's the other way round, DH is self-assured and Get doubts herself, though she is competent."

It was perceptive and a compliment. She helped me to see that I am competent! Still working on my self-esteem years later though

Years ago I had to do one of those awful 360 degree feedback exercises at work. All came back very positive and complimentary, except one, which just said ‘manipulative’. It cut me deep and I was horribly upset. I spent ages trying to figure out which of my colleagues had said that.

The truth hurts.

At a social event my husband got told by a complete stranger, after a 10 minute conversation, that he was bombastic. As soon as we got home I looked it up in a dictionary, that man was spot on.