Good Comebacks for Unwanted Opinions (Our Favorites)

I don’t know what it is lately, but people seem to think that what they have to say matters. (#sarcasm)

LOL. Really. I don’t know what it is. Maybe people are getting the idea that is is okay to provide opinions when no one asked them to because it is so easy to do on the internet. All you have to do is click the “comment” button or click “reply” and BOOM you get to have your say, whether or not anyone wanted to hear what you had to say or contribute.

This ability to anonymously put your thoughts out there for others to see leads people to frequently type and publish things they would NEVER say to someone’s face. Things they would quickly admit are wrong to say, or that they shouldn’t have said. (Think trolls)

Maybe this habit and practice bleeds off the internet, to waiting in line to check out at the grocery store, sitting in waiting room at the dentist, or around the dinner table on holidays.

The polite way to respond to unwanted opinions…

Would probably be to smile politely and say very little in return, or something like, Thanks for your thoughts. I’ll consider what you said. But it doesn’t feel all that satisfying, especially when the other person got to have his or her say while you didn’t.

Use of one these comebacks instead…

Instead, you could use one of these comebacks for unwanted opinions. Choose something silly, snappy, kind, clever, or even downright abrasive. Whatever suits your mood!

• I’m sorry, I didn’t order a plate of your opinion.
• I don’t remember asking you.
• Don’t judge me.
• Unsolicited advice is a form of criticism, did you know that?
• You obviously know more about my life than I do.

• Thank you for your advice. Allow me a few minutes to pretend that I am considering it.
• I didn’t realize that you are an expert on my life. Please continue while I take some notes.
• Who asked you?
• Thanks, but no thanks.
• You have a right to your opinion, and I have a right to tell you what I think about it.

• I am sorry if I offended you but ignoring the advice I didn’t ask for.
• It’s not help if it’s unwanted. It’s called meddling.
• if you can’t be kind, be quiet.
• I don’t know where you bought your opinion, but I hope you kept the receipt.
• Before you try to help someone, you should first find out if they want it.

• Before sharing what is on your mind, you should first make sure there is enough to spare.
• I love the sound you make when you close your mouth.
• The only thing wrong with me is that I’m talking to you.
• Maybe you should stay in your own life and stop interfering with mine.
• You know, common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it most never use it.

• If you ran like your mouth, you’d be in amazing shape.
• Why don’t you check Ebay to see if they have a life for sale.
• I don’t make decisions based upon opinions from people who don’t have to deal with the outcome.
• You have your entire life to be nosy. Why not take today off?
• Zombies eat brains….I guess you’ll be safe.

• Hey, I found your nose. It was in my business.
• Oh, didn’t I tell you? Then it must be none of your business.
• Unless your name is Google, stop acting like you know everything.
• I bet your brain is as good as new, seeing as it is obvious you’ve never used it.
• Judging another person doesn’t define who they are. It defines who you are.

• You are entitled to your incorrect opinion.
• The problem with close minded people is that their mouths are always open.
• Your opinions are as important as a white crayon.
• It’s funny how people who know me the least have the most to say.
• No need to say it again. I ignored you once already.

Comebacks not your thing? Try a quote instead.

People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases.

Carl Jung

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.

Harry S. Truman

No one can give you better advice than yourself.

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties.

Aesop

No one wants advice. Only corroboration.

John Steinbeck

I never give advice unless someone asks me for it. One thing I’ve learned, and possibly the only advice I have to give, is to not be that person giving out unsolicited advice based upon your own personal experience.

Taylor Swift

Don’t give your advice until you are called upon.

Desiderius Erasmus

But I can only take so much TV, because there is so much advice. I find people will preach about virtually anything – your diet, how to live your life, how to improve your golf. The lot. I have always had a thing against the Mister Know-It-Alls.

Bill Murray

I’m so glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

I cannot afford to live on bad advice.

Robert Kiyosaki

It’s easy to give advice from a port of safety.

Friedrich Schiller

Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity.

Frank Leahy

An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person’s main task in life – becoming a better person.

Leo Tolstoy

Arrogance. I have very little tolerance for that.

Rita Moreno

False Modesty can be worse than arrogance.

David Mitchell

Wrap Up

What is your favorite way to respond to people who think that what they have to say is important (even when you don’t)? Will you take the high road and hear them out?

Or will you put them in their place?

Let us know what you would do in the comments section below.