Lisa McGee is a successful stage and screenwriter with a pretty impressive resume. If you live outside of the UK, you might not be as familiar with her work, but suffice it to say she’s done well for herself. Still, she couldn’t help but reflect on one the biggest insults to her abilities that she’d ever heard…
What’s the best sly dig you’ve ever received? In my early twenties a guy told me I inspired him to be a writer because he’d seen one of my plays and it was so terrible he thought he definitely could do better. Stunning work.
— Lisa McGee (@LisaMMcGee) April 24, 2020
It’s a pretty harrowing tale of burnination, but it’s the initial prompt that’s going to be the real story here. “What’s the best sly dig you’ve ever received?” it turns out, Twitter had no shortage of these digs, and were more than eager to share them. Here are just a dozen of the best/worst entries.
12. Piling on
Damn lady, what did she ever do to you?
About 6 years ago I met a woman who didn’t know me from Holby (I was with other cast members at an event) I joked and said the camera adds 10 pounds. She looked me up and down and said, ‘And then some!’ and walked off.. ?
— Niamh McGrady (@NiamhMcGrady) April 24, 2020
11. Easy does it
Thank you? I guess?
https://twitter.com/Mar_w_1974/status/1253760449067302914
10. Man, oh man
In what way is this a compliment?
If I didn’t know you were a woman, I’d think this script was written by a man. Followed by “I mean that as a compliment”.
— Sally Abbott (@SallyAbbott3) April 24, 2020
9. You made the team
She’s lying anyway, dude.
I once asked an ex which Love Island contestant she fancied the most and she said, ‘None of them, I don’t really go for good looking men’ ?
— ? (@spaldingrich) April 24, 2020
8. Let them eat cake
I guess maybe you can cut it in this industry.
I used to have a little cake business, working from home. I’d put my heart and soul (and many hours work) into each bespoke cake. I was often told they were good, ‘maybe even good enough to be sold in supermarkets’…alongside the mass produced £10 cakes! pic.twitter.com/F3ZlL8NfYR
— Julie Cain (@Jooliooli) April 24, 2020
7. Documented cruelty
If it ain’t got a script, it ain’t legit.
Everyone was congratulating my OH as he was about to start his 2nd feature film.
??: “Congrats! That’s so amazing. I don’t think I know anyone who’s got their second film away”
Me: “*coughs* I’ve just finished my 5th feature doc”
??: “Oh I mean real films”
Me: ??
— Jeanie Finlay? (@JeanieFinlay) April 24, 2020
6. Approach with caution
Smooth as butter.
A colleague once came came up to me at a work’s lunch and dropped into conversation “no one wanted to sit here but I keep telling them, ‘she’s quite approachable!’” – backhanded compliment level achieved: 97 ?
— Zo (@Tomboyadventure) April 24, 2020
5. If memory serves
The student has become the burner.
My reply would be, “I was in your class but you didn’t teach me anything.”
— Chris Monks (@OnlyTheBiff) April 24, 2020
4. Supremely confident
Why shouldn’t I be, DAVE?
reminds me of the ex who said "I love how body confident you are"
— Chiara (@fiction_mist) April 24, 2020
3. It’s all in the eyes
Face it: this is terrible.
When I was 8 months pregnant, a passive aggressive work colleague told me I looked pregnant because of my face.
— Fran Harris (@FlimFlamFran) April 24, 2020
2. Stretching the truth
You play with fire, expect to get burned.
My Mother is the Queen of digs.. Once I laughed at her for buying a TopShop jumper (she was 75!) and she told me I could have it..as it had stretched in the wash… Hmmm.
— Marie Caldwell (@mariecald) April 24, 2020
1. On the other hand
Your dad sounds like the worst financial planner ever.
My dad said he was sending my sister to secretarial college because she was stupid but pretty so could get a good husband. To me, he said he’d pay for university as I was clever but ugly so unlikely that any man would want to marry me.
— HerLifeStory (@HerLifeStory) April 24, 2020
Welp. That’s a lot of digs. I’m going to need some time to recover from all that. Be nice to each other out there; words stick around for a loooooong time.
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