As a Brit who is occasionally effusive in his sincere praise of other people and things, I frequently suffer as a result. I remember once enthusiastically comp

As a Brit who is occasionally effusive in his sincere praise of other people and things, I frequently suffer as a result. I remember once enthusiastically complimenting a groundsman on his ride-on-lawnmower, resulting in my being subjected to a torrent of abuse. Incidentally, I think South Africans are even worse at spotting insincerity and facetiousness than Americans.