- fish for compliments
- to try to make someone praise you, often by criticizing yourself to them.
Emma, you know you don't look fat in that dress. Are you fishing for compliments?
(usually in continuous tenses)
New idioms dictionary. 2014.
fish for compliments
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fish for compliments — Usually said of someone who puts themselves down (similar to false modesty) in the hope that others will contradict them, and in the process, compliment them. Sam: I m no good at drawing!Judy: Nonsense! You re an excellent artist!Bob: Aw, he was… … The small dictionary of idiomes
fish for compliments — verb To try to induce someone to make a compliment. He is fishing for compliments … Wiktionary
fish for compliments — seek praise, search for flattery or admiration … English contemporary dictionary
fish for compliments — to try and obtain praise by subtle of devious means … Dictionary of ichthyology
fish for something — ˈfish for sth derived to try to get sth, or to find out sth, although you are pretending not to • to fish for compliments/information Main entry: ↑fishderived … Useful english dictionary
fish for — [phrasal verb] fish for (something) : to ask for or try to get (something, such as praise or attention) in an indirect way I think he offers apologies for his cooking as a way of fishing for compliments. [=as a way of getting people to say that… … Useful english dictionary
fish for — try to get or to find out (something) by hinting at it She is always fishing for compliments when I see her at work … Idioms and examples
Fish — Fish, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Fished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Fishing}.] 1. To attempt to catch fish; to be employed in taking fish, by any means, as by angling or drawing a net. [1913 Webster] 2. To seek to obtain by artifice, or indirectly to seek to… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Fishing for Compliments — Fi|shing for Com|pli|ments 〈[fı̣ʃıŋ fɔ: kɔ̣m ] n.; ; unz.; fig.〉 demonstratives Äußern von selbstkrit. Bemerkungen mit dem Ziel, Anerkennung bzw. positive Äußerungen von anderen zu erfahren [engl., „nach Komplimenten angeln“] * * * Fi|shing for… … Universal-Lexikon
Fishing for Compliments — Fi|shing for Com|pli|ments* [ fiʃiŋ fə kɔmplimənts] das; <zu engl.to fish »angeln« u. compliment »Kompliment«> auffallend bescheidene od. negative Selbstdarstellung [durch die andere sich zu einer positiven Reaktion od. zu Lob veranlasst… … Das große Fremdwörterbuch
