-->'''Bigweld:''' Gasket, you're a sick, twisted, evil robot.\\
'''Madame Gasket:''' I try.
-->-- ''{{Robots}}''

Character A makes a snide, sarcastic insult about a central and real trait of Character B's-- but instead of being insulted, Character B feels ''complimented.''

Usually, this is because Character B feels the "insulting" trait is actually a virtue that they have been trying to cultivate. Less commonly, they're TheDitz or have a poor grasp of the [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness word or concept]] being insulted and take it to be a positive comment. Other times, it's simply a case of Character B having the attitude of "I'll just pretend that it's not an insult."

A variant is for the character to be insulted, not because they dislike what was said, but because they're ''obviously'' so much worse than that.

Related to StealthInsult, but different in that an InsultBackfire is accidental and a StealthInsult is sent over the target's head on purpose. Sometimes, it seems the only sure way to insult someones is to [[ComplimentBackfire give them a compliment.]]

Not to be confused with InsultMisfire.

'''Common variations:'''
* {{Villains}}: Calling them evil, vile, or psycho is likely to make them act AffablyEvil and unusually demure from the flattery.
* Sexiness: Many a ThirdPersonSeductress finds her lasciviousness high praise.
* Alternative Lifestyles: [[SlobsVersusSnobs Take your pick]], but the person in question is happy with it.
* A {{Trickster}}: Acting shocked at their underhandedness.
* [[TheMadHatter Madmen]]: Anyone who tells them "[[YoureInsane You're insane!]]" will be met with a response such as "Thanks for noticing!"
* [[{{Heroes}} Heroic]]: The character being insulted is proud of his [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids idealism]], [[HonorBeforeReason honor]], [[WithGreatPower heroic tendencies]], or some other trait [[EvilCannotComprehendGood the villain tries to insult]].

See also ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne, IResembleThatRemark, CardCarryingVillain, TallDarkAndSnarky and ItsWhatIDo. Compare GeekyTurnOn, IWouldSayIfICouldSay and ArsonMurderAndAdmiration. Sometimes crosses paths with MisaimedFandom. The complete opposite of {{Your Approval Fills Me With Shame}}.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* In ''CrestOfTheStars'', Admiral Spoor's chief of staff is rather appalled at her attitude during combat and calls her Lady of Chaos - a title which she immediately adopts.
* Zelgadis from ''{{Slayers}}'' is always pleased when someone calls him a heartless magic-using swordsman. He's trying to cultivate the image.
* In ''NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'', the titular character snaps at [[spoiler: Gargoyle]] by shouting "You're inhuman!!" (literally, in Japanese, "You're not human"). Of course, [[spoiler: thinking he's a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien and all]], he thanks her affably for the compliment. The funny thing is, [[spoiler: it eventually turns out that he's a human after all]].
* A similar but less affable example occurs in ''{{Trigun}}'': right after the [[spoiler: Big Fall]], Vash yells at [[spoiler: his brother Knives]] that he's inhuman / not human. The latter proceeds to beat him up for daring suggest that he might be similar in any way to such inferior beings.
** The same character presents a similar reaction when Vash calls him a calamity at the end of the first manga. While he is peeved at the fact that Vash is insulting him, he is proud of being a calamity to humans and proceeds to prove it.
** A variant happens when Vash yells at Legato "[[FeedMe From now on, YOU are the hunted!]]" and the latter answers with a creepy happy smile.
* In ''MobileSuitGundam'', when [[TheStarscream Prince Gihren]] has his father Sovereign Degwin telling him "You're like AdolfHitler" when they discuss how much of a NietzscheWannabe he is, Gihren says he takes that as ''a compliment''.
* The ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh GX}}'' dub:
-->'''Reggie''': You're a nasty, [[SlobsVersusSnobs stuck-up snob!]] And no one here likes you!
-->'''Chazz''': I'm waiting for the insult.
* In an episode of ''{{Pokemon}}'', a [[MonsterOfTheWeek character of the week]] attempted to insult Misty by claiming that she was as beautiful as a [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Tentacruel_(Pokemon) Tentacruel]]. Tentacruel just so happens to be one of Misty's most desired Pokemon.
** [[NaughtyTentacles ...Is it now?]]
* Inverted in ''{{Bleach}}'':
-->'''Renji:''' (after completely destroying the chamber) So... how was it(my tactic)?
-->'''Ishida:''' That's something Kurosaki would have done.
-->'''Renji:''' Don't say that! It's almost an insult.
-->'''Ishida:''' It WAS an insult!
* ''AfroSamurai'' has this exchange between Sio and Dharman:
-->'''Sio''': "You're a wicked twisted, shit-faced genius scientist. You'll burn in Hell for your crimes against nature.
-->'''Dharman''': "You praise me so wonderfully, Lady Sio! I am not worthy of your poetry!"
* Whenever someone calls LupinIII crazy. "I think you're bats." "Well, that's the first thing...that you've been right about." *Cuts the rope holding himself and Diana to her kidnapper's chopper.
* In episode four of ''{{Baccano}}'', after [[ChaoticEvil Ladd]] [[EvillyAffable Russo]] just randomly kills two of his uncle's men for own amusement, the uncle calls him a freak that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even homicidal maniacs think is nuts]]. Ladd refers to this as "ham-handed flattery".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* The Joker in ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}'' is always some combination of a [[TheMadHatter Mad Hatter]] and a CardCarryingVillain, so he gets to do this a '''lot'''. For example, in ''Arkham Asylum''
---> '''Batman:''' Filthy degenerate!
---> '''Joker:''' Flattery will get you nowhere.
** On ''TheBatman''.
---> '''Joker:''' Medical Report! Stat!
---> '''Doctor:''' Y-you had a bad accident. You're a very sick man!
---> '''Joker:''' Flattery won't save you!
** ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}: The Long Halloween''
---> '''Batman:''' ''You're insane''!
---> '''Joker:''' Has it really taken you this long to notice?
** An early version of this (at least for the Joker), from Comicbook/{{Batman}} #321.
---> '''Robin:''' You're out of your mind, Joker!
---> '''Joker:''' Gloriously so! Isn't it wonderful?
** And an even earlier example in ''The Joker's Five-Way Revenge'' (Batman #251). Yeah, the Joker ''really'' likes this trope.
---> '''Batman:''' Joker -- you realize you're utterly... hopelessly... insane!
---> '''Joker:''' It's my most charming trait!
** Subverted, however, in ''TheDarkKnight''.
---> '''Gambol:''' You're crazy.
---> '''Joker:''' I'm not... No, I'm not.
** Possibly played straight only a few minutes later, after Joker has shown the explosives in his jacket:
---> '''Gambol:''' "You think you can just steal from us and walk away?!"
---> '''Joker:''' [Deadpan] "Yeah."
*** Aaaand played straight in TimBurton's Batman:
---> '''Vicky Vale:''' You're insane...!
---> '''Joker:''' (feigning surprise) I thought I was Pisces.
* ''{{Wanted}}''
--> '''Adam One:''' Fuck you, you fascist bastard.
--> '''The Future:''' You say fascist like it's some kind of insult, but people '''love''' fascists, man. You ever meet a woman who fantasized about being tied up and raped by a liberal?
** Probably a paraphrase of P.J. O'Rourke. "I have often been called a Nazi... I don't let it bother me for one simple reason. No one has ''ever'' had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal."
** Don't forget Mr. Rictus reply to Wesley calling him a "goatfucker."
--> "I do not fuck goats, Mr. Gibson. I make love to them."
* In Enki Bilal's ''Nikopol''-trilogy the titular characters once calls the Egyptian god Horus an inhuman bastard. Horus doesn't take this as compliment per se, but still explains Nikopol that he ''is'' inheritly inhuman, that is, far above the pathetic human concerns, like morality.
* In the British comic book anthology, 2000 AD, ''JudgeDredd'' at one point confronted the evil Call-Me-Kenneth, a robot leading all the other machines into a rebellion against the humans. Seeing the horrors of what's in front of him, Dredd proceeded to insulting Kenneth:
---> '''Dredd:''' We had a human like you in the 20th century, his name was Hitler!
---> '''Call-Me-Kenneth:''' Oh yes, I'm a very big fan of Adolf Hitler!
** Which comes across as being hypocritical seeing Dredd's own Nazi-like law enforcement over the citizens he protects.
* --> '''Superman''': Go to hell
--> '''Lex Luthor''': I've been. It's overrated.
* Exchange between Jean Grey and Emma Frost during [[GrantMorrison Grant Morrison's]] run on New XMen;
-->Jean: What makes you such a bitch, Emma?
-->Emma: Breeding, darling. Top-class breeding.
* From the series ''{{Anarky}}'' the titular character confronts PhysicalGod Darkseid and begins to lecture Darkseid on why everything he does is wrong. Just when he's about to use the E-word Darkseid cuts him off and proudly finishes the "insult" for him.
-->'''Darkseid:''' Evil? Yes. I am.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* The strip ''{{Garfield}}'' employs this from time to time. One notable variation has Jon flatly saying "I don't think you could get any fatter."- which causes Garfield's eyes to widen as he dashes to the refrigerator. "That wasn't a challenge!"
** One exchange between Jon and Garfield goes like this:
---> '''Jon:''' "You have many flaws, Garfield."
---> '''Garfield:''' "Thank you!"
---> '''Jon:''' "One of which is thinking that insults are compliments."
---> '''Garfield:''' "You're too kind."
* ''{{Dilbert}}'':
-->'''Dilbert:''' That is the most cynical thing I've ever heard in my life!\\
'''Dogbert''': Thanks. I'm blushing.
** And:
--->'''Dilbert:''' Dogbert, that is the vainest, most superficial thing I've ever heard!\\
'''Dogbert:''' *Wagging* Thank you.
** Also, when the PHB hires a man-hating superwisor:
--->'''Man-hating superwisor:''' You're fired for being a man.\\
'''Asok:''' No one has ever called me a man before. This is the happiest day of my life!
* ''{{Sovisa}}'' has had a version of this crop up a few times as a running gag between Alexi and Travis. It typically follows a pattern like this:
-->'''Travis:''' [Disparaging comment] (he [[DeadpanSnarker makes a lot of these]])
-->'''Alexi:''' No ''you're'' [Same disparaging comment]
-->'''Travis:''' I ''hate'' it when that stupid comeback works...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''GrouchoMarx'' always responded to an accurate insult with the famous phrase: "Why, I resemble that remark!"
* ''BeautyAndTheBeast''; because Gaston has the vocabulary of a third-grader and tends to hear only what he wants to:
-->'''Belle:''' Gaston, you're positively primeval.
-->'''Gaston:''' Well, thank you Belle.
-->She looks suitably disgusted.
* In ''TradingPlaces'', corporate bigwig brothers Mortimer and Randolph Duke argue over a meager sum of money, leadin to:
-->'''Randolph''': Mother always said you were greedy.
-->'''Mortimer''': She meant it as a compliment.
* ''BrokenArrow''
--> '''Riley Hale''': You're out of your mind.
--> '''Vic Deakins''': Yeah. Ain't it cool?
* ''Quest for Camelot'' has this:
--> '''Juliana:''' You're mad!
--> '''Sir Ruber:''' I'm so glad you noticed! I've been working at it for years!
* ''Wet Hot American Summer'': "Douchebags are hygienic products. I take that as a compliment."
* ''KungFuPanda''
-->'''Tai Lung:''' You can't defeat me! You're just a big, fat panda!
-->'''Po:''' I'm not just a big, fat panda. I'm ''[[TheChosenOne the]]'' [[TheChosenOne big, fat panda!]]
* ''RoadToElDorado'', amidst much {{Flynning}}:
-->'''Miguel:''' [[YouFightLikeACow You fight like my sister!]]
-->'''Tulio:''' I've ''fought'' your sister, that's a compliment!
* ''TheFifthElement''
-->'''Father Cornelius:''' You're a monster, Zorg.
-->'''Zorg:''' (*smiles*) I know.
** Perhaps a case of YourMileageMayVary, but it seemed to me that he was genuinely ashamed. It didn't coma across as a smile, but a twitch.
* ''TheShadow''
--> '''Lamont Cranston''': You are a barbarian.
--> '''Shiwan Khan''': Thank you.
* ''HocusPocus''
--> '''Billy:''' Go to hell!
--> '''Winnie:''' I've been there, thank you. I find it quite lovely.
* ''HappyGilmore''
--> '''Shooter:''' I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast!
--> '''Happy:''' You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?
--> '''Shooter:''' .......No!
* This memorable line from ''StarWars'':
--> '''Leia:''' (I think you are a nice guy) ...occasionally, maybe, when you don't act as a scoundrel.
--> '''Han:''' Scoundrel? Scoundrel... I like the sound of that.
* Jack Sparrow does this in ''At World's End'' when he replies to a declaration of "You're MAD!" by saying "Thank goodness for that, because if I wasn't, this would probably never work."
* ''Clerks II''
--> '''Pot-buying teen:''' Is that a fucking Bible?
--> '''Jay:''' Hey hey, the HOLY fucking Bible, son.
* ''RockAndRule'' (Megalomaniac rock star Mok has coerced Angel into singing for him by torturing her friends/bandmates)
--> '''Angel:''' You're totally crazy!
--> '''Mok (with a truly creepy expression and vocal tone):''' ''Thank'' you. Shall we go?
* ''CasinoRoyale'' (1967). Daliah Lavi is held captive by archvillain Woody Allen:
--> '''Lavi:''' You're crazy! You're actually crazy!
--> '''Allen:''' They called Einstein crazy.
--> '''Lavi:''' That's not true; no one ever called Einstein crazy!
--> '''Allen:''' Well, they would have if he'd carried on like this...
* ''TheWickerMan'' (1973).
--> '''Sgt. Howie''': It means that you, sir, are a pagan!\\
'''[[ChristopherLee Lord Summerisle]]''': A heathen, conceivably, [[WickedCultured but not - I hope - an unenlightened one.]]
* From DemolitionMan:
-->'''Taco Bell patron''': What would you say if I called you a brutish fossil, symbolic of a decayed era gratefully forgotten?\\
'''[[SylvesterStallone John Spartan]]''': I don't know... thanks?
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Literature]]
* In the ''[[PrinceRoger Empire of Man]]'' series, one of the supporting characters is a Satanist. Her (originally Catholic) planet got this way during a religious civil war, in which one side demonized the other as Satanists. The other side accepted and maintained the term, having decided that given the evil of their opponents, Satan must actually be good.
* Calderon's ''Life is a Dream'':
-->'''Clotaldo''': Why, this is madness!
-->'''Rosaura''': Yes it is.
* ''{{To Kill A Mockingbird}}'' applies this when Atticus is called a "nigger-lover."
* In ''WarriorCats'', Blackstar at one point starts going on and on about how generous [=ThunderClan=] was to give up a piece of territory, and how much good use [=ShadowClan=] has been getting out of it as a hunting ground, using the concession as an opportunity to mock [=ThunderClan=] for weakness. Firestar, who had simply not thought the piece of territory important enough to fight for, responds: "I'm glad to hear that you are getting so much out of a piece of land prey-poor by [=ThunderClan=] standards." Blackstar is not amused.
* In ''HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Hermione reappropriates the FantasticSlur for [[WitchSpecies wizards of impure blood]], declaring herself to be "Mudblood and proud of it!"
** Her band "Mudbloods with Attitude" sadly never got off the ground, though.
** In ''HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', The new Minister [[LawfulNeutral Scrimgeour]] accused Harry as "Dumbledore's man." Harry, of course, [[CharacterWitness happily admits it]].
* ''[[ForgottenRealms The Lost Library of Cormanthyr]]''
--> '''Zyzll''': I don't trust her.
--> '''Tweent''': She's a drow. Don't trust her. She won't be offended. In fact, she may feel quite honored.
* And from LordOfTheRings:
-->'''"You don't belong here; you're no Baggins-you-you're a Brandybuck!"
-->"Did you hear that Merry? That was an insult, if you like," said Frodo as he shut the door on her. "It was a compliment," said Merry Brandybuck, "and so, of course, not true."'''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' "Court Martial":
--> '''[=McCoy=]:''' You are the most cold-blooded person I've ever met.
--> '''Spock:''' Why thank you, Doctor.
** [=McCoy=] has just walked in on Spock playing 3D chess against the computer while Kirk is facing some serious criminal charges. It is revealed that Spock was testing a hypothesis that the computer he was playing against [[spoiler: had been tampered with, producing some false evidence framing Kirk. He was correct.]]
** In "The Return of the Archons":
---> '''Spock:''' I prefer the concrete, the graspable, the provable.\\
'''Kirk:''' You would make a splendid computer, Mr. Spock.\\
'''Spock:''' That is very kind of you, Captain.
** {{Lampshaded}} in ''StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'':
---> '''Spock''': As you are so fond of pointing out, Doctor, I am half human.\\
'''[=McCoy=]:''' Well, it certainly doesn't show.\\
'''Spock''': Thank you.\\
'''[=McCoy=]:''' How do you like that? This guy never changes. I insult him and he takes it as a compliment.
* ''TheMuppetShow'' had such an exchange between Sam the Eagle and Alice Cooper:
-->'''Sam:''' Mr. Cooper.
-->'''Alice:''' Yes?
-->'''Sam:''' Let me come right to the point. You, sir, are a demented, sick, degenerate, barbaric, naughty... freako.
-->'''Alice:''' Why, thank you.
-->'''Sam:''' (sigh) Freakos, 1 - Civilization, 0.
-->''Alice turns to the camera, then licks his finger and holds it up for the gesture of "one point to me".''
* Used in ''DoctorWho'' at various times over the decades:
** In "The Sound of Drums", The Master, upon being accused of insanity, [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome just gives a thumbs up]]. Example [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDn1PLzQvGo here]].
** In the serial "The Time Monster", the Master completely annihilates the Doctor (Jon Pertwee). Companion Jo Grant remarks that it was the most brutal, inhuman, monstrous thing she had ever seen. The Master gives a nod and says "Thank You" as if he were accepting a compliment on his new suit. (Roger Delgado was ''The'' Master, accept no substitutes).
*** On the other hand, after it turns out the Doctor isn't dead the Master is somewhat lost for words (see CargoCult).
** In {{TheMovie}}, a hospital receptionist who believes the Master is an ambulance driver named Bruce responds to his odd choice of words by commenting, "Bruce, you are sick." The Master responds, "Thank you."
** "You speak treason!" "FLUENTLY!"
*** Hey, they lifted that one from the ErrolFlynn film ''TheAdventuresOfRobinHood.''
** In "The Lazarus Experiment", Tish calls the Doctor a "science geek," and when Martha explains that it means he's "obsessively enthusiastic about it," the Doctor's flattered.
** In "The Ultimate Foe", Mel calls the Master "utterly evil" after learning his plot. His response? What else? "Thank you." Simple, but cute.
* From ''WillAndGrace:''
-->'''Jack:''' You're evil and shallow.
-->'''Karen:''' Compliments? So early in the day?
* ''TopGear'': The "ignore the insult" variant is a fairly common element of the OddCouple chemistry between [[VitriolicBestBuds Jeremy Clarkson and James May]]
-->'''May''': [''after reviewing a Rolls Royce Drophead Coupe''] I believe deep in my heart that I look good in it and it suits me... 'cause it's stylish and it's contemporary.
-->[''audience laughs'']
-->'''Clarkson''': [''sarcastically''] Every time I see you, those are the words that pop into my head: stylish and contemporary.
-->'''May''': Thank you.
* ''{{Mystery Science Theater 3000}}'' used this trope as one of Dr. Forrester and Dr. Erhardt's catchphrases in the first and "zeroth" season, before it petered out later on. Joel would call them mad, or tell them that they were tampering in God's domain, or some such, and they would reply, in unison, "Thank you!"
** ''Earth vs. the Spider'', largely considered an early years ShoutOut by the fans, shows Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank using this phrase, only to look confused at the occurrence immediately after. (This episode also contained an explicit reference to Dr. Erhardt, who was [[PutOnABus put on a bus]] between seasons one and two, and the a sketch of the 'Bots being given RAM chips as rewards for complimenting the film--a [[RunningGag running gag]] that had been long since phased out.)
* ''{{House}}'' had plenty. Such as:
-->'''Dr. Wilson:''' That smugness of yours really is an attractive quality.
-->'''Dr. House:''' Thank you. It was either that or get my hair highlighted. Smugness is easier to maintain.
-->...
-->'''Dr. Wilson:''' Be yourself: cold, uncaring, distant.
-->'''Dr. House:''' Please, don't put me on a pedestal.
* From ''RedDwarf''
-->'''Rimmer''': You're totally egocentric, you flee at the first sign of danger, you only look after number one, you're vain, you're selfish, you're narcissistic and you're self-obsessed.
-->'''The Cat''': You just listed all my best features.
** And in another episode, after Rimmer double-crosses them:
--->'''Lister''': "...you're a total scum-sucking, two-faced, weaselly weasel!"
--->'''Rimmer''': "Ah, my entry in "Who's Who."" [Walks out]
* ''LifeOnMars'':
-->'''Gene Hunt''': I think you've forgotten who you're talking to!
-->'''Sam Tyler''': An overweight, over-the-hill, nicotine-stained, borderline-alcoholic homophobe with a superiority complex and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding?
-->'''Gene Hunt''': You make that sound like a bad thing.
* This example from ''{{Angel}}'' is somewhere between this trope and a StealthInsult depending on how mean it was meant to be (probably not very given the person speaking). When [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Harmony]] [[TheDitz Kendall]] goes to see Lorne for help she gives a rather painful rendition of "Memories" so that [[ItMakesSenseInContext he can read her future from the song]]. Lorne comes to talk to her afterwards and says "I can't help you, my little Cacophony". She's disappointed, then a second later says "Cacophony... that's pretty... what's it mean?"
* From the ''ComicRelief'' skit with CatherineTate as [[TheCatherineTateShow Lauren]] and DavidTennant as her English teacher.
-->'''Mr Logan''': You are the most insolent child I've ever had the misfortune to teach.
-->'''Lauren''': Thank you.
** Speaking of Tate and Tennant... Well, I could see a similar exchange to that happening in DoctorWho. Both ways.
* Dr. Ellingham in ''Doc Martin'' on multiple occasions responds to insults with a hasty "thank you". It seems he's either being sarcastic or just saying it to shut people up and get the last word.
* From ''NoHeroics'' episode "Origin and Tonic":
-->'''Alex''': You look like a right slag today.
-->'''Sarah''': Aww, cheers, Alex.
** Alex has walked in too late to hear that Sarah's dressing slutty on purpose to annoy her parents, who are visiting the pub.
* ''Monk'' episode 'Mr. Monk Goes To Vegas':
-->'''Natalie''': (to Stottlemeyer) He gets hooked on everything. He's the most compulsive person I've ever met!
-->'''Monk''': Thank you.
** The opposite happens in 'Mr. Monk And His Biggest Fan':
-->'''Natalie''': Mr. Monk, you're not flustered - you're flattered! Who wouldn't be? She adores you; she knows everything about you. After all, you're only human.
-->'''Monk''': There's no need for name-calling.
** One episode (can't remember the title) had someone pointing out how lonely Monk must be. His response? "Yes, I am, thank you."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Hip hop example: In the song "Second Round K.O.," Canibus included in his disses of LL Cool J, "99% of your fans wear high heels." The intention was to insinuate that LL was not "hard" enough to appeal to men, but the impact is considerably weakened by the fact that the name "LL Cool J" stands for "'''L'''adies '''L'''ove '''Cool''' '''J'''ames." LL Cool J responded in the song "The Ripper Strikes Back" with the following lyric: "Ask Canibus, he ain't understandin' this/'Cause ninety-nine percent of his fans don't exist."
* A musical at Six Flags called "Love at First Fright" featuring an evil sorceress who wanted to hero's brain for her creation. At one point all the protagonists chorus, "WITCH!!" This is followed by a long beat, after which she gleefully replies, "Guilty!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* ''TheGoonShow'' regularly uses these:
-->'''Seagoon''': You are a coward.
-->'''Bloodnock''': Seagoon, you surprise me.
-->'''Seagoon''': Why?
-->'''Bloodnock''': I didn't know you knew.
** And:
-->'''Greenslade''': Mr. Eccles, we are not doubting your sincerity for one moment. It's just your intelligence that's in question.
-->'''Eccles''': Oh... well, I accept your apology.
* Inverted on ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'':
-->'''Connie''': Why don't you live in a style more befitting your financial status?
-->'''Whit''': You're beginning to sound like [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness Eugene]].
-->'''Connie''': There's no reason to get insulting.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* From ''[[MagicTheGathering Magic: The Gathering]]'', the flavor text for [[http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?name=Agent%20of%20Masks Agent of Masks]]:
-->"You say that I am two-faced? Enough with the flattery. We have business to conduct.''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Theater}}]]
* {{Shakespeare}} did this with [[{{Malaproper}} Dogberry]] in ''MuchAdoAboutNothing.'' Note, however, that this is because Dogberry doesn't ''understand'' he's being insulted.
-->'''Leonato:''' Neighbours, you are tedious.
-->'''Dogberry:''' It pleases your worship to say so, but we are the poor duke's officers; but truly, for mine own part, if I were as tedious as a king, I could find it in my heart to bestow it all of your worship.
* The RunningGag of {{Shakespeare}}'s Falstaff was the fact he was a drunken, bawdy, cowardly, charismatic, corpulent thief/scoundrel/adventurer, and loved being one out loud.
* An indirect example: In Molière's play ''The Miser'', title character Harpagon wants his daughter, Elise to marry a much older man, because he'd take her without dowry. When Harpagon's steward, Valére, who's secrety in love with Elise, hears this, he comments: "When a man offers to marry a girl without a dowry, we ought to look no farther. Everything is comprised in that, and "without dowry" compensates for want of beauty, youth, birth, honour, wisdom, and probity." Harpagon takes it completely seriously.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* From ''KingdomHearts II'':
-->'''Sora''': Lowlife!
-->'''Hades''': Eh, you're too kind, kid.
* A complicated version of this trope appears in ''TalesOfSymphonia'' between [[spoiler:Zelos]] and [[ActionGirl Sheena]], when [[spoiler:Zelos is revealed to have betrayed them all [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder to several enemy factions]]]].
-->'''Sheena:''' I can’t believe you! [[spoiler:You were always a pervert, but I never doubted that you were a good person when it came down to it.]]
-->'''[[spoiler:Zelos:]]''' [[spoiler:Why, thank you, my sweet, voluptuous hunny.]]
** Which seems to imply [[spoiler:he's thanking her for calling him a good liar]].
* There's a longer version of an InsultBackfire in NeverwinterNights2 when the player first enters the Sunken Flagon after recruiting Qara (a red-haired sorcerer with a short temper and a penchant for fire spells).
-->'''Khelgar Ironfist''': By my reckoning, the Flagon's never had a finer table-cleaning goblin-wench.
-->'''Qara''': What, since your mother lost her job?
-->'''Khelgar''': Eh? Now don't be bringing my mother into this! You'd best be careful, you simpering little father's girl, or you'll learn a thing or two about Ironfist honour and manhood!
-->'''Qara''': Oh, you mean the two smallest things in all of Faerûn? From what I hear, no woman could learn about Ironfist manhood from you, Khelgar.
-->'''Khelgar''': Wh-what?! I'll have you know plenty of women know about Ironfist manhood! Plenty! They just all live up... around Waterdeep... or they'd tell you!
* {{Monkey Island}} lives this trope, although it's not as much agreeing with the insult as putting a spin on it and coming up with a riposte that literally makes it backfire at the person who made the insult.
-->You fight like a diary farmer!\\
How appropriate, you fight like a cow!
** And:
--->There are no words for how disgusting you are.
--->Yes there are. You just never learned them.
** ''And''
--->Have you stopped wearing diapers yet?
--->Why, did you want to borrow one?
*** Inspired {{KingdomOfLoathing}}'s 'Insult Pong'. The player has to match insults against Old Don Rickets, eg:
---->When I'm through with ye, ye'll be crying like a little girl!
---->It's an honor to learn from such an expert in the field.
* In ''ApolloJustice: AceAttorney'', the Judge tells [[spoiler: Alita Tiala]] that she is not being a good fiance, she responds that she's flattered.
* Happens many times on ''{{Sam and Max}}'' series of games, concerning Max and his tendency for mass destruction, to put things in perspective: when Max is elected President of the United States, Impeach Max Weekly becomes a regular publication, [[strike:surprisingly]] unsurprisingly Max ''enjoys'' reading it.
* In [[SonicTheHedgehog ''Sonic Adventure'']], Sonic calls Dr. Robotnik an "Eggman" thanks to his obvious love of egg-shaped GiantMecha. Robotnik spites Sonic and takes it as a term of endearment, asking everyone to call him "Dr. Eggman" from now on. (Er, [[RetCon at least if you played the US version.]]))
* In-game example from Valve in ''TeamFortress2''. Valve decided to remove items people idled to get, and give people who didn't idle a halo over the head as a take that against the people who did idle. The result? The people who did idle seized to heal people wearing halos, and instead first and foremost focused on the ones with halos above their heads. So much for a punishment against idlers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomic]]
* In ''{{Erfworld}},'' shortly after being summoned, Parson is told that he must refer to his lord and master in a respectful manner. He says that in his world, the highest term of respect is "[[StealthInsult tool]]"; Stanley the Plaid, being on a quest to gather divine artifacts called the Arkentools adopts "Tool" as his new title.
* [[{{Narbonic}} Professor Madblood]]'s [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/narbonic/series.php?view=archive&chapter=10213 Von Boom award acceptance speech]].
-->'''Lupin Madblood''': [...] I plan to use the cash prize to rebuild my lair, which was destroyed by bumbling buffoons, with the goal of crushing you all beneath my heel. Good night and God bless.
-->'''Artie''': I have to say, he gave it a lot of class.
-->'''Helen B. Narbonic''' (grinning): He mentioned us!
-->'''Dave Davenport''': [[MediumAwareness This is the third storyline in a row]] where [[{{Nerd}} I've had to wear a tie]].
* Brian Clevinger was on the receiving end of this when he published the [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2008/12/11/episode-1070-what-were-you-expecting/ "ending"]] to ''EightBitTheater''. He subscribes to the philosophy that the funniest jokes are on the audience (thus the bogus NoEnding). He expected a deluge of hate mail for that, but found he was on the receiving end of a tidal wave of ''compliments for writing the ''perfect'' ending to the comic''. Clevinger was very deeply upset by his audience's reaction.
* Happens a lot in SomethingPositive.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The poster for the [[{{Gorn}} ultraviolent]] movie ''Boogie el Aceitoso'' has the poster call Boogie sexist, racist and disgusting, and Boogie thanking the poster for the compliment.
* In the BugsBunny cartoon ''Devil May Hare'', Bugs tries to shoo away a fawn by warning it about the Tasmanian Devil, not realizing that the latter is [[RightBehindMe right behind him]]:
-->'''Bugs:''' He's a mean, vicious, nasty, no-good, baggy-eyed, marble-headed ignoramorous. He's a stupid... (turning and seeing Taz) Eyee...
-->'''Taz:''' Flattery'll get you nowhere.
* Inverted in ''{{Futurama}}'' Bender is ''trying'' to compliment a fellow soldier ([[SweetPollyOliver Leela in disguise]]), but doesn't quite grasp the concept:
-->'''Bender:''' You hard fightin', hard fartin', ugly, ugly, son of a...
-->'''Leela:''' Stop, stop flattering me!
** Also used by Fry when trying to defend himself and his friends who felt insulted from Leela's new boyfriend dislike of abnormality:
-->'''Fry:''' Zoidberg is a horrible monster who smells like he eats garbage, and does!
-->'''Zoidberg:''' Damn straight!!!
*** ''Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?'' is ''chock'' full of these.
-->'''Dr. Zoidberg''': How do I look?
-->'''Bender''': Like whale barf.
-->'''Dr. Zoidberg''': Then the illusion is complete.
***
--->'''Dr. Zoidberg''': You seem malnourished. Are you suffering from internal parasites?
--->'''Edna''': Why, yes! Thanks for noticing!
**** That one's a bit of a subversion, as it actually ''was'' intended as a compliment; Fry had advised Zoidberg to tell Edna she looked thin.
***
---->'''Fry''': I'm flattered, really. If I was gonna do it with a big freaky mud bug, you'd be way up the list.
---->'''Edna''': Hush, you romantic fool.
* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' used this with a non-villainous, but rather crazy, old herbalist:
-->'''Aang:''' ...You're insane, aren't you.
-->'''Herbalist:''' That's ''riiight''...
** And then there was the lovely little [[CainAndAbel family reunion]] between Zuko and his baby sister:
--->'''Zuko''': ''You lied to me!''
--->'''Azula''': (smugly) Like I've never done ''that'' before.
* Probably done more than once in ''TheSimpsons,'' but this example stands out. When Bart was working for money in order to save up for something, he worked at a barber shop. He gets his pay and it's hair instead of money. Bart asks the barber about that and asks if the barber's crazy, and the barber smiles widely and nods, also laughing in a creepy way as a disturbed Bart backs out of the barber shop.
* And ''JusticeLeague'' had the following exchange between the time-travelling Superman and Vandal Savage, now a few thousand years older and the last human left, stuck on a [[AfterTheEnd barren and ruined earth]] for all eternity:
-->'''Superman:''' [[YoureInsane You're]] ''[[YoureInsane insane]]''.
-->'''Vandal Savage:''' ...[[TheMadHatter True]]. But that doesn't mean I'm not good company. Say, you want to [[HoYay come over to my place?]]
-->'''Superman:''' [[VisibleSilence ...]]
-->'''Vandal Savage:''' Like you have anything ''better'' to do.
* ''SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', episode "Girls' Night Out". Batgirl and Supergirl fight Livewire, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Harley rescues Livewire by ''spraying her with water''. Livewire gets up and grabs Harley, preparing to fry her:
-->'''Livewire:''' [[YoureInsane Are you]] ''[[YoureInsane insane]]''[[YoureInsane ?]]
-->'''Harley Quinn:''' Yes!
* Example from ''The SuperMarioBrosSuperShow'':
-->'''Mario:''' Koopa, you're the meanest, ugliest lizard that ever slimed its way across Cramalot!
-->'''Bowser:''' Flattery will get you nowhere.
* ''DarkwingDuck'':
-->'''[=GizmoDuck=]''': I still think [[AntiHero your crime fighting style]] is [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal disreputable, disturbed, and possibly devious]].
-->'''Darkwing''': Well, from you, that's a compliment.
* Mildly subverted in ''{{Voltron}}'' where Allura insults the evil Prince Lotor and Lotor ''does'' feel insulted...but for the wrong reasons.
-->'''Allura''': You're a monster just like your father!
-->'''Lotor''': That old fool?! Why I'm ''twice'' the monster he is!
* Used in an episode of ''SushiPack'' that introduces Sir Darkly, the "[[EnemyToAllLivingThings source of all sadness in the world]]."
-->"Some people call me a jinx. That's so nice of them."
* ''TheFairlyOddparents'':
-->'''Wanda''': You evil little boy!
-->'''Remy''': Why thank you.
* Happens on ''DuckTales'' after Glomgold previously accused Scrooge of being "too soft":
-->'''Flintheart Glomgold:''' You're a low-down, ruthless rat!
-->'''Scrooge:''' What can I say, Glomgold? You bring out the best in me.
* ''BeastWars'' gives us this exchange:
-->'''Rattrap:''' You're nothin' but a schemin' snake-in-the-grass!\\
'''Starscream:''' Flattery will get you flattened, vermin.
* ''WinxClub'' gives us this:
-->'''Mirta:''' You're mean!\\
'''Icy:''' Mean? Try diabolical!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Post-Civil War America suffered from a rash of corrupt Republicans in the White House and corrupt Democrats in the cities. Cartoonist Thomas Nast was so disgusted he drew cartoons portraying Republicans as giant elephants fat on their embezzled dollars and Democrats as stubborn donkeys. [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready Guess what happened...]]
** For those of us outside the US, these became their respective mascots.
* In its early days, Long Beach State University's baseball team was called "dirtbags" because financial circumstances forced it to practice on an all-dirt infield. The insult was re-purposed to be a reflection of hard work and hard-nosed play. It is now an unofficial nickname for the (highly successful) team.
*[[OrSoIHeard It has been told]] that Winston Churchill - England's prime minister during WW2 - liked alcohol a bit too much for a man of high authority. Once during a party one of the female guests commented to Churchill in a rather disrespectful way that he was drunk. His response? "Why indeed I am drunk, good madam, but tomorrow I shall be sober, while you will still be ugly."
** There's another story that a female reporter told Churchill something like "If you were my husband, I'd put poison in your tea," to which he said "And if you were my wife, I would drink it."
* Other RealLife examples include labels such as Gothic, Baroque, Impressionist, Christian, Methodist, Mormon, Prime Minister, and Yankee. They all started out as insults but were adopted by the targets as their own.
** Similarly, the pretty much universal "Tory" for British Conservatives originally meant something like "Papist Irish Bandit". The less well known today, but still embraced "Whig" for a Liberal meant "Puritan Scots Pleb".
*** Puritan was also an insult to begin with, then was accepted by those it targeted.
** Baroque still retains its negative meaning, though, and has even expanded it beyond architecture metaphorically.
* Since you mentioned "Yankee", it's worth noting that "Yankee Doodle" was originally written by the British to mock American soldiers. The Americans instead co-opted the song, and it's now one of the most popular American patriotic songs.
**To a far lesser extent, the song "American Woman" ([[strike:also Brit]]Canadian-penned) seems to have gone the same way...
* When around 250 Dutch nobles presented a list of grievances to the Spanish ruler of the Netherlands, one of her councillors expressed surprise that she was worried about "these beggars" (ces gueux), which became "geuzen" in Dutch. Less than a decade later, the watergeuzen (Water Beggars) had proceeded to seize several key cities in the north, raid several Spanish fleets, and set off a full-scale religious and political rebellion against the Spanish crown that would last eighty years before ending in Dutch independence.
* A TruthInTelevision example: historically, new but unpopular mathematical ideas were given pejorative names by the people intent on adhering to the ''status quo'', and then happily adopted by the people proposing the new idea. Math terms most of us have heard in school came about that way: irrational numbers, imaginary/complex numbers, pathological cases. This has been going on long enough to makes this trope OlderThanRadio at least.
** That is also how the Big Bang was named. The term was coined by Fred Hoyle, a proponent of the competing steady-state hypothesis.
** Similarly, Schrödinger's Cat was originally supposed to demonstrate how absurd the idea of collapsing the wave function was.
** Likewise, the Mpemba Effect (that under certain circumstances warmer water will freeze before colder water) was originally a pejorative term.
** There are also the lesser known ''ideal numbers'', which were later just called ''ideals''.
* ''Black'' was traditionally a derogatory phrase when applied to African-Americans, with "Negro" regarded as the more proper and acceptable term. This was more or less inverted in the 1960s.
* The word ''queer'', once an insult leveled against homosexuals, has largely been adopted by the community for self-description.
-->'''Homer Simpson:''' And another thing! "Queer". Why did you take that word away from us? That was the word ''we'' used to make fun of ''you''!
** Similarly, many gay women choose the word "dyke" as self-definition and find "lesbian" an insulting or dirty word. Similar examples exist in various languages.
** Ellen DeGeneres intially preferred to called a "gay woman" rather than "lesbian", as she considered the latter term at the time to be unintentionally alienating to stright people, and, more simply, didn't like the way it sounded to the ear.
* ''Redneck'', though still mainly used pejoratively, has increasingly been embraced as a proud self-identifier in recent years (as in Gretchen Wilson's country hit "Redneck Woman", for example).
* In WorldWarII, where General Rommel called the Australian soldiers in Libya 'the rats of Tobruk' (Tobruk being a location in the east of Libya). Guess what nickname the Australian soldiers wore as a badge of pride...
*** May have been intended as an analogy rather than outright insult. After all, rats are hard to get out of a place once they move in...
* During the Height of the JackThompson phenomenon, Mr. Thompson started labeling people who played video games "Pixelantes". Needless to say, it didn't take long before the T-shirts emblazoned with "I'm a Pixelante" started showing up. [[{{Blayde}} This troper]] thinks he should have bought one while Thompson still had a license.
* An interview with the famous liberal psychologist Karl Menninger on the ''NewsHour'' ended with the question "Does it bother you when you're called a bleeding heart"? He responded, "Not in the least. I'm flattered."
* Have you self-identified as a pirate lately due to your habit of downloading illegal files on the internet? Thank the RIAA; they dredged that label out of the bins of history to try and tar the public perception of copyright infringers.
** I've heard it hypothesized that if the RIAA had picked a less-romantic label than "Pirate", software piracy itself wouldn't be as popular. Now if they had labeled it "Software Pedophilia"...
** Seriously, who ''wouldn't'' want to be called a pirate? Pirates are super cool.
*** Ninjas.
** People wanting to be called pirates now include political parties in several European states.
* "Geek" used to be an insult until geeks, like pretty much everyone else in this section, took the insult and started wearing it as a badge of honor. These days, magazines throw terms like 'geek chic' around without even the slightest tinge of irony. Ditto with "nerd."
** ''It's not too hard to figure out, you see it everyday; And those that were the farthest out have gone the other way; You see them on the freeway, It don't look like a lot of fun; But don't you try to fight it--"An idea who's time has come." Don't tell me that I'm crazy, don't tell me I'm nowhere: Take it from me--It's hip to be a square!''--Huey Lewis (and the News)
* This troper's father still has a button from the early '70s that says "Hi. I'm an effete, impudent intellectual snob", a reference to VP Spiro Agnew's claim that the antiwar movement was led by an "effete corps of impudent snobs."
* Many Conservative attacks to Liberal Cities/Institutions have been adopted as well. "The People's Republic of Boulder/Austin/Santa Monica" "Berzerkley" (The University of California-Berkeley), "Mad City" (Madison, Wisconsin), and so on.
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island Rogue's Island!]]
** Heck, in Cambridge, Massachussetts, you can buy stickers practically anywhere that say "The People's Republic of Cambridge."
** Conservatives are actually happy of this; [[InsultBackfire at last the institutions admit what they actually are in so many words]]!
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDWaCZe1tmA This]] YouTube video (Warning: contains the N-word).
* When the New Zealand rugby team toured England in the early 20th century, an English newspaper commented negatively on their "somber all-black outfits". They have been known as the All Blacks ever since.
* Conservative commentator P.J. O'Rourke was once called a Nazi by an offended listener. He famously responded "Nobody ever fantasizes about being tied to a bed and ravished by a liberal."
* When Jon Stewart appeared on the O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly claimed that 87% of ''[[TheDailyShow Daily Show]]'' fans were intoxicated while watching and repeatedly referred to them as "stoned slackers". The fans adopted it as a [[FanCommunityNicknames Fan Community Nickname]] and this troper has seen "I'm one of Jon's stoned slackers" T-shirts.
* In AustralianRulesFootball, North Melbourne were nicknamed the "Shinboners" due to their reputation for kicking opposition players in the shins. Their fans proudly adopted the name.
** Geelong's nickname of the Cats came from a story about a black cat crossing the ground, and Geelong winning the match.
* Slight Variation: AbrahamLincoln, when called "two-faced", reportedly fired back "If I had two faces, do you think I'd be [[UglyCute wearing this one]]?"
* In youth the eccentric greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope was banished from his hometown. He later remarked: "The Sinopans have condemned me to banishment. I condemn them to stay at home!"
* Abraham Lincoln once used the term Michigander to insult Lewis Cass. People in Michigan now use it to refer to themselves.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_freak Jesus freak]].
* "Chicano" was originally a derogatory term for the American children of Mexican immigrants, meant as a reminder that they did not quite belong in either the U.S. or Mexico. Chicanos eventually adopted the name as a symbol of pride for their heritage.
* When President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe was [[GodwinsLaw compared to Hitler]], he had this to say: "This Hitler has only one objective: justice for his people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people and their rights over their resources… If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold."
* The words "guy" and "dude" were both originally insults. The former referred to Guy Fawkes, a failed royal assassin. The latter was originally a clueless newbie on a ranch.
* FanWank. Many non-Brits understand what FanWank is; few understand what it means without the first few letters and many use it as an abbreviation. A few Brits, aware of what it [[ADateWithRosiePalms means]], have jokingly or otherwise mentioned their honour if someone assumes a claim is wank material. [[RuleThirtyFour After all...]]
* In WWI The kaiser commented on Britain's "contemptible little army, the BEF called themselves the old contemptibles in honour.
[[/folder]]

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