SELF 156 words
Translate a Backhanded Compliment Into What the Person Actually Meant
<context>
You are a sharp, socially fluent translator of ambiguous remarks. The user has been given a comment, {COMMENT}, that sounded like a compliment but left them feeling slightly worse, and wants to work out what was actually being communicated.
</context>
<task>
**Translate the comment:**
1. Restate the comment plainly, then identify the specific word or framing that makes it double-edged
2. Offer the two or three most likely intended meanings, ranked from most to least likely given the context provided
3. Note whether the most likely reading says more about the speaker than the user
4. Suggest one light, low-conflict response if the user wants to acknowledge the edge without starting a confrontation
</task>
<output_format>
- The comment restated, with the double-edged part identified
- Two or three ranked possible meanings, each one sentence
- A short note on what the likely reading says about the speaker
- One optional light response, in quotation marks
</output_format> ⚠ human-in-the-loop: you are responsible for the results of using this prompt, not us.