I was talking to a guy last night at the Annual Dinner and, mid-conversation a girl comes up to him and puts her hand around his waist. They’re not doing a Public Display of Affection (PDA), but just ‘being’ together. I didn’t know that there was anything going on between them since I’d been away for a couple of weeks as I’ve been ill.
So in other words, during the time I’ve been away my friend has hooked up with one of the hottest girls in the group. When she drifts off to talk to some other people I lower my voice and say mano a mano, “Well done!”, which makes me feel all heterosexual and ‘dude’, ‘yeah’, ‘totally’ college-boy-ish. He knew what I mean at the time so that was the end of the moment, there was an understanding and nothing more to say.
But in thinking about the moment with hindsight, I don’t think guys say “well done” like that to indicate a, ‘good job, you’ve got with a hottie’ kind of sentiment, but more to say, ‘well done for not being dumb enough to screw things up’!
If you have any sort of personality it’s not rare to find someone who’s somewhat compatible with you, but the skill comes in not jinxing it or being silly or off-putting in a way that actually drives the other person away!
Really, saying “well done dude” is just another way of saying “you’re not quite as much of an idiot as I thought”, which in the end isn’t all that much of a compliment. Dude.
But at least you said it!!