People say this a lot, and it never got my attention until recently, when someone said it about his new girl... right in front of his ex. I was like "Wow, how did that make her feel?", because he was essentially saying that his new girl was prettier than his old one. But really, aren't they saying to all the other women in the room "Hey, my wife is prettier than all of you!" (Or saying to all the other men in the room, "Hey, my husband is more handsome than all of you!")
I realize that nobody wants their spouse to feel second-best. I'm not suggesting that people say something like "Hey honey, Ellie Mae is prettier than you, but she wouldn't go out with me. You're a pretty close second, though!" I'm only asking what everyone thinks about saying this in front of other people. Is it rude? Poetic license? Tacky? Perfectly acceptable? And can it really be truthful, since nobody has met every man or woman on the planet?
I realize that nobody wants their spouse to feel second-best. I'm not suggesting that people say something like "Hey honey, Ellie Mae is prettier than you, but she wouldn't go out with me. You're a pretty close second, though!" I'm only asking what everyone thinks about saying this in front of other people. Is it rude? Poetic license? Tacky? Perfectly acceptable? And can it really be truthful, since nobody has met every man or woman on the planet?