So, when someone tells you that you look well

[MrsCampbellBlack]

What do you think they mean?

Because, for me it means I look fat. Now is this just me and my own family weirdness regarding weight or is anyone else the same?

I think it means you look glowing. Caused IME either by being pregnant or lots of good sex.

i think i tend to use that expression when somebody just looks like they've got a bit of a spring in their step.

people tend to say it to me when i've put a bit of weight on cos my face usually looks a bit gaunt when i'm thinner

Stout now that is a great word. MIL described my DD as sturdy when she was 2 - I literally had to be peeled off the ceiling to DH's utter bemusement.

And I am definitely not pregnant.

It never occurred to me that it referred to putting on weight! I just assumed it meant I looked tanned/healthy/less tired than usual...

"You look well" means that you look well.
Especially when said to you by someone you love/trust.
And if you think that someone is sneaky and unkind enough to use it as a barb, then don't listen to their opinion.

I take it at face value. Looking well just means looking fine to me, so if someone tells me I'm looking well, to me it means I'm having one of my better hair days or that I managed to cobble a reasonable outfit together.

It wouldn't even cross my mind that it would mean fat, because it doesn't.

at sturdy!!! 'Fine lump of a lass' is a preferred compliment from Irish men of a certain generation - it used to upset me but I realise now it was actually well intended - they were remembering how young girls looked during awful times like the 1930's and they genuinely felt that being tall, rosy cheeked and shall we say 'well built' was a good thing.

Fat :)

Its interesting to see the divide in terms of interpretation.

The lady who said it to me today is very lovely, and I know she meant it as a nice thing. Its just my weirdness over weight I'm sure.

And the fact that I would therefore never say it to anyone else.

Liberty - makes mental note to avoid Irish men of a certain generation

I assume I am even fatter than usual, too.

I assume it means I looked ill last time they saw me or they expected me to look bad, I got it a lot after having DD as I was so ill after having DS, everyone I think thought I'd be like death warmed up again... Now I'm worried they meant I looked like a chubster

I always say it to people who have lost weight and now I find out they might think meant they were fat :/

That I actually look dreadful - rubbish hair, shit clothes, naff make-up - and they are desperately searching for something nice to say. Probably out of embarrassment at how awful I look. Only time I don't mind it, is if I have been very ill and the person saying I look well knows this. But generally, no good can come of this comment.

Oh no, I didn't want to make people feel sad or bad!

Its just me and a few others I'm sure.

People don't do that though, do they? They don't say the exact opposite of what they're thinking when saying nothing is the expectation.

Really people, those that think it means fat, would you ever say anything if someone had put weight on, even if you thought you were saying the opposite of what you truly thought, or would you opt for saying nothing?

Someone told me I looked well the other day. I said 'do you mean fat?' They didn't answer, so I assume that yes, that's exactly what they meant!!

No, Judith! You just embarrassed and confused them. People don't say anything when they think someone's not looking their best, unless they're worried and would say so.

it depends on who is saying it,my mum thinks im too thin,so when she says i look well ,then for me it means i put on weight, if others say it,it means i look,healthy or good.

To me it means that I look less tired than usual. Or I've overdone the blusher.

I don't think anyone has ever said this to me. I would just take it at face value - "well" means healthy, so I would interpret it to mean I looked good - shiny hair, bright eyes and so forth. Probably why nobody's said it to me!

I would never have guessed it was code for fat

I would say thank you and think hey I don't look like a bag of shit today, or it was worth washing my hair after all.

I don't think anyone would have the balls to imply increased girth.

it's another way of describing some one as buxom :(

I totally disagree that it is code for fat!

I say it all the time when a friend is looking particularly pretty, nice outfit, hair looks good, lost a bit of weight. It's a statement that covers a lot of things that might all be working in combination to mean she's looking especially lovely that day.

People say it to me quite a lot, I weight 8 stone something and am not fat. I always thought they meant I was looking good.....I have always accepted it graciously as a compliment.

Am wondering now whether people actually meant what I thought they meant....