Oh . . . wait . . . sorry. I meant to compliment them. ‘Complement’ and ‘compliment’ are often confused, but easy to tell apart, if you look hard enough.
‘Complement’ with an E means to be a harmonious addition to something. For example, white wine is a great complement to a fish dinner. Colours and angles can also be complementary, in that they complete or enhance each other.
On the other hand, ‘compliment’ with an I means to give positive feedback, as in a lot of people have paid me some very nice compliments about my Scribble Pad posts.
‘Complimentary’ also means an extension of courtesy or good manners . . . and it implies that something is free of charge. So when you’re invited to a fete where the drinks are ‘complimentary’ it means you don’t have to pay for them . . . your rum and Coke will not tell you how well your dress goes with your shoes.
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