When someone mutters under their breath you may be a little taken aback because it can be rude, passive-aggressive, and hostile behaviour. Maybe the person doesn’t like what you said, and instead of being an adult and confronting you about it, they walk away and then mutter complaints under their breath.
Often people think they get away with making snide comments under their breath without being called out for their shitty behaviour.
The person you are dealing with may not have the courage to talk to you openly about what is bothering them. When you ask them directly what they said, they reply, “nothing,” and won’t repeat what they muttered back to you.
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Some people aren’t even aware that they are muttering, their behaviour is aggravating and can be enough to make you want to end a relationship.
Jeannie’s husband was always muttering under his breath, and it became so extreme that it was a deal-breaker for her. She didn’t want to have him near her friends because of his uncouth behaviour. She spoke to him directly and told him that it was a deal-breaker for her and he needed to stop doing it immediately.
Her husband continued to complain under his breath but now she called him out every time. Jeannie would say, “What was that you just said to me? I didn’t catch it? It would be helpful if you could speak clearly to me.”
Jeannie kept calling her husband out on his bad behaviour , every time he did it she would say it sounded like he had duct tape over his mouth. Because he knew that he was going to get called out every time he muttered under his breath, he eventually stopped doing it.
Here are a few things you can say to someone who mutters under their breath.
The top ten things to say to someone who mutters under their breath
- Excuse me, but are you still talking? I couldn’t make out what you said.
- What did you say? I missed it.
- Did you mean to say that out loud?
- Pardon me, I didn’t quite catch that all.
- What was that? It sounds like you have duct tape on your mouth.
- Please stop with the passive-aggressive behaviour.
- Hey, if you have something to comment on, say it to my face, don’t mutter under your breath.
- I don’t see why that’s necessary to say. It’s not kind or constructive. All it does is make us both unhappy. How can we reach a conclusion where you stop insulting me?
- I’m sorry, but if you keep insulting me under your breath, I’m going to have to make it a bit of a deal. I know you don’t want that, and neither do I. Do you think you could drop it?
- Hey, is there a reason why you keep insulting me?
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