I recently met a gentle man who had breath that smelled like a monkey's anus. His breath was awful. I think he had stanky (stanky is one step beyond stinky) breath and then tried to cover it over with a cigarette. It really was one of the top ten worst smells I ever experienced.
Ya know it's just an awkward situation to be in. Do I tell him and risk offending him or do I just let him roam the earth with stankyness? I let him roam. I'm sure you've been in that situation. Has anyone ever had the guts to tactfully tell someone their breathe stank?
How difficult to tell someone something SOOOO embarrassing. More than likely, I would have done like you: kept as much distance as possible between us and let him go on his smelly way for fear of embarrassing him.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am lucky enough to have a purse, and during the conversation I might have excused myself for a piece of gum and offered him one in the process.
Just a thought
Question, How do you know what a monkey's anus smells like?
ReplyDeleteI would have started talking about the different kinds of mouth care products, like mouthwash or gum and hope they take a hint.
ReplyDeleteI tell my fourth graders when their breath smells, and I have them get a mint from my desk. It's different for a ten year old though. Not much offends them.
ReplyDeleteIf someone's breath smells like a monkey's "anus", what do you suppose they were doing? The thought kind of makes me queasy and I am overcome with a deep feeling of malaise. If their mouth was where I think it must have been, I am not sure a Tic-Tac brand breath pellet will do the job. We need to think along the lines of calling the Haz-Mat team or summoning some sort of Industrial Hygiene group.
ReplyDeleteDan, I don't know. It's a guess.
ReplyDeleteJessie, the gum trick is nice but I don't like carrying gum in my pockets.
Rich, I thought about that.
Mon, I love you.
Daniel, you are funny.
Have you seen the Muppet Show? Do you know the two old guys who heckle the whole time? When in this situation I try to do my best immitation of their faces in hopes that they catch on that something is incredibly wrong.
ReplyDeletewhat a refreshing thought for the day...monkey anus. maybe you should ask him if he smells a monkey around? you could feign like you were deathly allergic to monkey and start scratching...i may just be going off the deep end here.
ReplyDeleteI would only tell Bub or my kids if they had bad breath. I might offer them a mint or gum though.
ReplyDeleteI work with a guy like that and always bust out gum and offer him some.
ReplyDeleteI think you just tell them. I would want to know if my breath was "stanky". And i'm not so sure that Monkey's Anus thing was a guess...? But definitely doing him a favor in the long run by just telling him. i mean what if he was going to meet a great woman that day that was marriage worthy and he blew it because you noticed he had "stanky" breath and didn't tell him
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