Caroline H
Familiar Face
- Messages
- 63
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
I'm waiting for some of our Southern friends to chime in with the difference between cute, sweet, and nice. My first mother-in-law was raised in the south and her daughter settled in Georgia for a while, and they tried to explain the heirarchy to me.
As I recall, "cute" was the ultimate compliment and it encompassed both appearance and personality. Your best friend is cute. That house you're in love with is cute. Your new crush from the party is cute. "Sweet" is also a compliment, but not as good as cute. Your new neighbor might "seem like a really sweet girl" (who could get upgraded to cute later, once you know her better). "Nice" is the polite way of not talking trash, and may be followed with "but." "Nice" means you have no evidence to support that this person is sweet or cute, and may actually have seen them do something not at all nice, but you're above gossip. "I guess she's nice, but I don't really know her that well."
I'd say your memory is pretty accurate! (born & raised in the South!)
I'm with those who are just happy if they get a compliment! But I also agree that "cute" sometimes gets used when the person just isn't sure how else to put it. One day I had someone tell me "you look very, I don't want to say "old fashioned" but....... (I wanted to say, "Just go ahead and say "old fashioned" since that was basically what I was trying for!) I could tell by their face they meant to give a compliment but weren't sure how to say it!