Question
Atualizado em
25 set 2021
- Japonês
-
Inglês (EUA)
-
Inglês (RU)
Pergunta sobre Inglês (EUA)
What does "That was smooth" mean?
What does "That was smooth" mean?
Respostas
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- Inglês (EUA)
Now, it could mean exactly what it says: "something feels smooth to the touch".
Or it could even mean a sincere compliment, that someone was very socially smooth and confident just now. If so, the tone of voice and context will be highly approving and clear that it is admired. But slightly different variations of this are more likely if it is a compliment, like just "Smooth!" or "Oh, that was smooth! Nice!" etc.
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This is because over 90% of the time, this phrase is meant as sarcastic. Someone was clumsy, they made a minor fool of themselves, they tried to impress someone but failed badly, they tried to seem cool or smooth or confident or impressive or capable...but instead they misspoke, or said the wrong thing, or looked foolish, or chickened out at the last minute, or they did it wrong and then (badly) tried to hide it, etc etc.
So someone who watched the whole thing, might say "that was smooth" to mean sarcastically "that didn't go so well, that was a mess, you badly messed that up, that was awkward, that was embarrassing" etc. So they were probably hoping to act smooth, to be smooth, to be socially confident and impress someone...but they ended up being the opposite.
So:
"yeah, real smooth" = "that was very awkward and obvious, you failed at making this smooth".
And "that was smooth" is a little more humorous, understated, dry sarcasm, because it wasn't smooth at all.
All of this can be used as an insult, but it is often mild teasing by friends about how socially awkward your attempt was, etc. Context usually makes it obvious about how friendly and good-natured vs how mean or insulting the phrase is meant to be.
So the tone of voice, context, timing, attitude, etc really changes how this one is understood.
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- Japonês
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