AITA for my reaction? – Co‑worker said I smelled edible
Picture this: it’s a regular Tuesday in the office, you’re juggling a stack of paperwork, and your colleague—let’s call him the “Snack Whisperer”—drops a line so oddly phrased it could have been a line from a sitcom gone wrong. He says, “You smell edible.” No, not a compliment, not a culinary recommendation, just a strange way of pointing out that you apparently give off the scent of… something edible. The result? A flinch, a step back, and a paper trail that’s probably still in the office.
The Incident
Our heroine (35F) was handing over a set of orders for the warehouse when the Snack Whisperer, 40ish, casually remarks about her “edible” scent. Because she’s a total poker‑face‑sufferer, she reacts instantly—flinch, move back a little, and then just hands over the paperwork. She goes back inside the office, hoping the scent mystery ends there.
Fast forward 30 minutes. The same Snack Whisperer bursts into her office, arms crossed, saying he’s “offended” by her reaction. Apparently he didn’t mean it in a suggestive way, and he’s now convinced that not every man thinks like that. He also added, “Stop overthinking.” He’s basically saying: “You overreacted, and now I’m sorry for my comment.”
Our heroine is left wondering: Did I just get caught in a scent‑based social experiment? Or is this just a weird office drama?
Reddit’s Take (with a sprinkle of sarcasm)
Interesting that he tried to pre‑empt you by claiming offence to your reaction before you'd verbalised anything about his comment.
Because nothing says “I’m sorry for being weird” like a pre‑emptive apology.
I was literally speechless when he came to my desk because I'm like hunh??
When the universe forces you to confront a man who thinks “edible” is a compliment.
Had you smelled like food, a normal person would've named a specific food item in a friendly or joke‑ish intonation. Like “you smell like cookies! Great, now I’m hungry” while making a frown, or something like that.
A reminder that we should probably stick to “you smell like burnt popcorn” next time.
He made it really weird, and the second interaction sounds like a creep’s defensive mechanism.
When your office drama is more “CSI: Office Edition” than “Friends.”
Yeah, OP gave him a chance to just, you know, never repeat this kind of statement and hopefully forget it, he was the one who decided he's gonna make this a recurring harrasment.
A classic case of “I’ll just bring it up again when I’m bored.”
So he said YOU were inappropriate?? Jesus Christ men suck.
When the only thing you’re supposed to be smelling is your own body spray, and someone thinks that’s a crime.
TL;DR
If a coworker says you smell edible, it’s probably not a culinary compliment. Just laugh, hand over the paperwork, and maybe invest in a snack stash.