[General] Hi Good-looking (2 Questions)

[Ouisch]

Originally Posted by thedaffodils

Is it okay for a man say the following words to his business parnter or a female professional in business occasion?

eg.1 You're sexy.

eg.2 You look hot.

'Sexy' or 'hot' reminds me of sex-object.

NO!!

You are correct that "sexy" and "hot" reduces the female to a sex object (in a professional situation, anyway. If it's your spouse/lover, then it's perfectly OK to use such terms.)

In a professional or business situation, a male should absolutely never say to a female colleague anything along the lines of "you're sexy" or "you look hot." If you are a male and you can't resist commenting on a female co-worker's attire, the most you should say is "that color really suits you" or "I really like your (blouse, dress, shoes, whatever), where did you buy it? I'd love to get one for my wife."

[thedaffodils]

Woo-hoo, I feel my sense of language improves bit by bit now. Thank you, Ouisch.

(1)If Peter was Mary's colleague;

(2) If Peter was Mary's boss;

(3) If Peter was Mary's business parnter;

Peter said, "Mary, you're sexy". How should Mary answer duly and show she was annoyed? But she woundn't like to break up their normal relationship.

If Peter was Mary's old friend, but friend only, was it okay for Peter to say that to Mary? If not, how should Mary answer appropriately?


Thanks!

[BobK]

I don't have any first-hand experience of such situations, so I'll leave it to someone who isn't 'chromosomatically challenged'. In the last case, as long as the context made it clear that there was no 'sexual subtext', I imagine this would be OK - an openly gay man, say, complimenting a woman on her appearance before a date: 'You look really sexy in that; Harry's a lucky man.'

b

[thedaffodils]

Originally Posted by BobK

I don't have any first-hand experience of such situations, so I'll leave it to someone who isn't 'chromosomatically challenged'. In the last case, as long as the context made it clear that there was no 'sexual subtext', I imagine this would be OK - an openly gay man, say, complimenting a woman on her appearance before a date: 'You look really sexy in that; Harry's a lucky man.'

b

Thank you for your commment, BobK.

[Ouisch]

Originally Posted by thedaffodils

Woo-hoo, I feel my sense of language improves bit by bit now. Thank you, Ouisch.

(1)If Peter was Mary's colleague;

(2) If Peter was Mary's boss;

(3) If Peter was Mary's business parnter;

Peter said, "Mary, you're sexy". How should Mary answer duly and show she was annoyed? But she woundn't like to break up their normal relationship.

If Peter was Mary's old friend, but friend only, was it okay for Peter to say that to Mary? If not, how should Mary answer appropriately?


Thanks!

If Peter is Mary's old friend, and she is flattered and appreciative of the comment, she would thank him for it. Quite properly, she should blush and flutter her eyelids like a heroine in a romance novel while thanking him.


If Peter was Mary's boss and made the comment, she would have to tread a very fine line... Her natural reaction would probably be to slap him, but he's her boss and she likes her job. Perhaps he is just "testing the waters" by making the comment - that is, he is hinting at establishing something more than a working relationship. If Mary is not interested in him romantically and wants to keep her relationship with her boss on a professional basis, she should reply along the lines of: "I appreciate your comment, but I must admit that it makes me uncomfortable. I would prefer if you didn't say such things in the future."

Mary can be more blunt with a colleague or business partner when he makes an unwelcome comment. "Let's get this straight - I am not dressing to entice you, and I find your comment to be completely rude and inappropriate. Let's just forget about this and get on with business."

[Scallywag]

Originally Posted by BobK

Cultural speculation:
I wonder if the term 'good looking', used as a form of address, pre-dates the Hank Williams song: YouTube - Hank Williams - Hey Good Lookin' ...

b

Not a teacher.

The only way to be reasonably sure might be to speak to a few Americans in their nineties!

It is a common device for songwriters to incorporate current popular sayings in their lyrics. When very successful, other songwriters think, "Why didn't I think of that?!"

However, I'm pretty sure that Hank Williams' lyric was an adaptation of a common colloquialism of the time, "What's cookin'?" ("What's going on?" or "What's happening?") This was elaborated upon with the addition of "Good lookin'" simply because it rolls better and has more snap. "What's cookin' good lookin'?" has more "attitude."

While a surprising number of expressions have survived more or less intact from the America of 1920-30-40, there are a multitude which have disappeared and sound utterly bizarre to modern day sensibilities.

[thedaffodils]

Hi Ouisch,

Thank you very much for your answer.

[thedaffodils]

Hello Scallywag,

Welcome to the forums. Thank you for your input.