History PlayingWith / DamnedByFaintPraise

** Bob praises Alice for something completely unrelated to the novel he’s reviewing.

* '''Lampshaded''': Alice meets Bob and thanks him for his good review of her book. Bob points out, “Every work of fiction has characters. If you had read the whole review, you would have gathered quite quickly that I didn’t like that book.”

DamnedByFaintPraise … lists examples of its appearances in media and real life. There. Are you satisfied?

* '''Downplayed''': Bob gives Alice a StealthInsult or two.

* '''Subverted''': Bob writes, "What does this book do well?" ...and then [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments praises its narrative structure as being "impressively original."]]

* '''Straight''': Critic Bob writes, in his review of Alice's novel, "This book is good in that it features characters I have never seen before in this guise." Note he does not say whether she used CharacterizationTropes well or not, and also that he left it open-ended as to whether they were very original.

** Bob praises the book using an OverlyNarrowSuperlative taken UpToEleven. For instance: "This is the finest book about an elderly cat's observations on life in Johannesburg just before the end of Apartheid that I've read this week."

** A minor critique being used to show that something is actually very good; i.e. Bob loves Alice’s book and regrets only that it is shorter than he’d have liked.

* '''Subverted''': Bob writes, "What does this book do right?" ...and then [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments praises its narrative structure as being "impressively original"]].

* '''Zig Zagged''': Bob writes in complete honesty about how engaging the book's plot is, but awkwardly avoids talking about how flat the characters are.
* '''Averted''': Bob [[BrutalHonesty always says exactly what he thinks of a book or elements thereof.]]

-->'''[[DaEditor Mike]]:''' You said Alice [=LaTropé=] wrote ''Being a Trope'' in a legible language. It's bad, isn't it?\\
'''Bob:''' Mm-hmm.

** Bob loves Alice’s book and regrets only that it is shorter than he’d have liked.

** Bob cites the fact that Alice's novel consists of ''words'' as its greatest virtue.

* '''Zig Zagged''': ???

%%* '''Played for Drama''':
%%* '''Plotted a Good Waste''':

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'''Basic Trope''': Some work has serious problems, which someone brings into relief by citing its minor aspects as “virtues.”
* '''Straight''': Critic Bob writes, in his review of Alice’s novel, “This book is good in that it features characters I have never seen before in this guise.” Note he does not say whether she used CharacterizationTropes well or not, and also that he left it open-ended as to whether they were very original.

** Bob cites the fact that Alice’s novel consists of ''words'' as its greatest virtue.

* '''Subverted''': Bob writes, “What does this book do right?” … and then [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments praises its narrative structure as being “impressively original.”]]
* '''Double Subverted''': [[BaitAndSwitchComment “… because nobody else in the history of literature has ever built a story so haphazardly!”]]

** Bob’s review includes the phrase, “Clearly, [[NoSuchThingAsAlienPopCulture aliens from a race that hasn’t perfected the modern novel]] did ''not'' write this thing!”

** Bob says something like “At least it doesn’t give you cancer” or “It’s better than a kick to the face.”

-->'''[[DaEditor Mike]]''': You said Alice [=LaTropé=] wrote ''Being a Trope'' in a legible language. It’s bad, isn’t it?\\
'''Bob''': Mm-hmm.
* '''Conversed''': “I hope we’re not watching this show because it advertised itself the way its InUniverse [[SturgeonsLaw crappy media]] do.”
* '''Implied''': When asked whether anyone gave her book a good review, Alice says only that Bob gave her a “sort of good” review.
* '''Deconstructed''': Alice realizes the critics don’t like her output and stops writing.
* '''Reconstructed''': Alice strives to learn from her past inferior efforts and [[GrowingTheBeard becomes a much better writer.]]

* '''Justified''': [[CausticCritic Bob]] [[GenreSavvy realizes]] that if he presents his unfiltered opinion, people might perceive him as a snob who dismisses [[PluckyGirl Alice]] unfairly, [[GiftedlyBad the actual quality of her writing]] notwithstanding.

** Bob '''loves''' Alice’s book and regrets only that it is shorter than he’d have liked.

** Bob says the novel is {{asbestos free|Cereal}}.

* '''Justified''': [[CausticCritic Bob]] [[GenreSavvy realizes]] that if he presents his unfiltered opinion, people might perceive him as a snob who dismisses [[PluckyGirl Alice]] unfairly, regardless of [[GiftedlyBad the actual quality of her writing]].

** Bob '''loves''' Alice’s book and refers to its only flaw as its being “only 203 pages long.”
** Bob favorably compares Alice's book to a well loved classic, but Alice treats this as an insult [[SmallNameBigEgo insisting her novel is far better]].

* '''Averted''': Bob [[BrutalHonesty always says exactly what he thinks of a work or elements therein]].
* '''Enforced''': Bob works for a publication that’s heavy on the FourPointScale and they mandate that all critics on their payroll say something kind about every work they review.
* '''Lampshaded''': Alice meets Bob and thanks him for his good review of her book. Bob points out, “Every work of fiction has characters. If you had read the whole review, you would’ve gathered quite quickly that I didn’t like that book.”

** Bob rereads the novel again, hoping to find something he can praise sincerely.

* '''Reconstructed''': Alice strives to learn from her past inferior efforts and [[GrowingTheBeard becomes much better]].
%%* '''Played for Laughs''':

* '''Inverted''': Bob '''loves''' Alice’s book and refers to its only flaw as its being “only 203 pages long.”

'''Basic Trope''': Implying that something is of low quality by pointing out virtues one expects of it.
* '''Straight''': Critic Bob’s review of Alice’s novel says, “This book is good in that it features characters I have never seen before in this guise.” Note he does not say whether she used CharacterizationTropes well or not, and also that he left it open-ended as to whether they were very original.

* '''Lampshaded''': Alice meets Bob in person and thanks him for his good review of her first book. Bob retorts, “Every work of fiction has characters. If you had read the whole review, you would’ve gathered quite quickly that I didn’t like that book.”

** Bob says something along the lines of "It's better than a kick to the face" or "At least it doesn't give you cancer".

DamnedByFaintPraise … lists examples of where it’s appeared in media and real life. There. Are you happy now?
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%%Optional examples, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
%%* '''Played For Laughs''':
%%* '''Played For Drama''':
%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''':

* '''Inverted''':
** Bob '''loves''' Alice’s book and refers to its only flaw as its being “only 203 pages long.”
** Bob says that the book has “poorer characterization than Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire.”

* '''Inverted''': Bob '''loves''' Alice’s book and refers to its only flaw as its being “only 203 pages long.”

** Bob says the novel is {{asbestos free|cereal}}.

* '''Parodied''': Bob’s review includes the phrase, “Clearly, [[NoSuchThingAsAlienPopCulture aliens from a race that hasn’t perfected the modern novel]] did ''not'' write this thing!”

** Bob cites the fact that Alice’s novel comprises ''words'' as its greatest virtue.

-->'''[[DaEditor Michael]]''': You said Alice [=LaTropé=] wrote ''Being a Trope'' in a legible language. It’s bad, isn’t it?\\

%%* '''Implied''':

* '''Exaggerated''': Bob cites the fact that Alice’s novel comprises ''words'' as its greatest virtue.

* '''Straight''': Critic Bob’s review of Alice’s novel says, “This book is good in that it comprises characters I have never seen before in this guise.” Note he does not say whether those characters are well-written or not.

* '''Downplayed''': Bob gives Alice a BackhandedCompliment or two.

** Bob rereads the novel again and finds something he can praise sincerely.
* '''Discussed''': ???
* '''Conversed''': ???

* '''Defied''': To escape ExecutiveMeddling, Bob quits his job and becomes an independent critic so he can present his opinions as he sees fit.

* '''Reconstructed''': Alice strives to learn from her past inferior efforts and becomes much better.

* '''Straight''': Literary critic Bob writes a negative review of Alice’s debut novel. He gives the standard loose plot outline and then begins his actual evaluation of the work thus: “This book is good in that it comprises characters I have never seen before in this guise.” Note he does not say whether those characters are well-written or not.

* '''Downplayed''': ???
* '''Justified''': This is the only way [[CausticCritic Bob]] can keep his job without people perceiving him as a snob who dismisses [[PluckyGirl Alice]] unfairly, regardless of the actual quality of her writing.

* '''Double Subverted''': He [[BackhandedCompliment goes on to write “… because nobody else in the history of literature has ever built a story so haphazardly!”]]

* '''Lampshaded''': Alice meets Bob in person and thanks him for his good review of her first book. Bob retorts, “Every work of fiction has characters. If you had read the whole thing, you would’ve gathered quite quickly that I didn’t like it.”

* '''Defied''': ???