what you say is what you are
Original ID : 795 Created On : 2002-11-24 Last Modified : 2005-05-01
Flawed response to any insult. The planned exchange runs thusly:
Kid A: You’re a gay.
Kid B: What you say is what you are.
Kid A: Touché! I am confounded.
One problem is the literal interpretation… leading to this improbable exchange:
Kid A: You’re a gay.
Kid B: What you say is what you are.
Kid A: What, I’m a you’re a gay?
The more fundamental problem is that you’re allowing the other person to say “Oh, in that case, fantastic sexy stud man train driver”. Imperfect and to be avoided.