Internet Laughs at Woman's 'Cringe' Reaction After Mishearing a Compliment

A Reddit post about a woman who called a man a "perv [pervert]" after mishearing the compliment he was paying her has gone viral on the online forum.

According to a post shared by the 31-year-old woman (username PessimistPr1me) on Reddit's TIFU (Today I F**ked Up) forum, where it received over 21,000 upvotes, she was engrossed in a podcast, with one earphone on, while putting bags in her car after shopping at a grocery store.

As she was finishing up, a man on a bicycle headed towards her and appeared to say "Nice breasts!" as he "rode past me smiling," she said.

"I was really caught off guard by this, so I yelled back, 'You're disgusting, perv!'" and the man glanced at her "with a really confused look and mumbled something like 'What the hell?'

"I realized about three seconds later that what he ACTUALLY said was, 'Nice dress.' I was wearing a long, colorful maxi dress that really stood out. I immediately felt like an idiot and I still cringe just thinking about it. Oops [emoji of grinning with teeth showing] sorry, bike guy!," the woman said.

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment.

According to a study of 1,000 women and 1,000 men commissioned by the non-profit Stop Street Harassment published in February 2018, most women (81 percent) and many men (43 percent) have reported experiencing sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime.

Verbal sexual harassment was found to be most common, reported by 77 percent of women and 34 percent of men.

The study said: "Sexual harassment takes place across a range of locations, but the most frequently listed location is a public space," with 66 percent of women having reported sexual harassment in a public space.

The top five "most frequently selected forms of sexual harassment and assault" for women include the following, as outlined in the study:

• A person whistling, honking, making kissy noises, "Pssst" sounds, or leering/staring aggressively at you (65 percent).
• A person saying phrases such as "Hey Baby," "Mmmm Sexy," "Yo Shorty," "Mami/Mamacita," "Give me a smile," or similar comments in a way that is disrespectful and/or unwanted and/or made you feel unsafe (59 percent).
• A person purposely touching you or brushing up against you in an unwelcome, sexual way (51 percent).
• A person calling you a sexist slur, such as "b***h," "slut," "c**t," "ho" (46 percent).
• A person talking about your body parts (such as your legs, crotch, butt, or breasts) in an inappropriate or offensive way; saying sexually explicit comments (such as "I want to do [BLANK] to you") or asking inappropriate sexual questions (43 percent).

Several Redditors were in stitches from the latest viral post.

In a comment that got 8,200 upvotes, user InDrIdCoLd37 predicted there could be separate post on Reddit's Am I The A**hole (AITA) forum by the cyclist that says: "Complimented a woman on her dress as I rode by on my bike, she called me a f**king perv, am I the asshole?"

User zap2214 wrote: Lmao [laughing my a** off] i am the same, someone compliments me and i feel like you can hear the dial tone as my brain tries to comprehend what was said."

In a comment that got 2,100 upvotes, Avius_Si-muntu shared: "My mind immediately went to her groceries having chicken breasts in them.....I might be feeling a little hungry."

User ArenSteele "thought it was going to be a chicken breast pun, still inappropriate with a stranger, but less hostile."

In a comment that got 1,400 upvotes, user Shiggens wrote: "As an older man I learned it is probably not a good idea to compliment random women on anything."

In a comment that got 519 upvotes, user mnl_cntn said: "Yeah, learned my lesson a long time ago. Never compliment anyone ever. Trip straight to creepsville if they take it the wrong way..."

In a comment that got 161 upvotes, user Pls_PmTitsOrFDAU_Thx said: "This is my biggest fear of complimenting women. I never do it because scared of coming off as creepy. This story just solidifies my concern."