Britons are known for many things: their fondness of tea, relentless chats about the weather, and most crucially – at times suffocating politeness.
But there are times when our good manners land us in bizarre situations.
One anonymous Redditor from the UK took to a forum on the site, prompting others to relay the funniest things they’d done ‘because they’re too British to say no’.
They explained how they were too awkward to deny a stranger’s very odd request – buying them moisturiser, simply because they felt too rude to question it.
Various people chimed in with startlingly similar anecdotes – and one even admitted to staying on the bus too long because a stranger incorrectly told them it was their stop and they couldn’t refute.
‘Today I was in a shop in the shopping centre near my home. I got talking to the shop assistant who was telling me about skin care,’ the post recounted.
‘I told her I had bought a cheap product off TikTok shop to try. I wasn’t expecting it to work but for £4 I couldn’t complain. She asked me to show her what it was’.
The Redditor continued: ‘When I did this she asked me to buy it for her and she’d give me the money….
I was taken back as this is something a family member or friend would ask. I then for some strange reason ordered it for her right there…. Why I did that, I have no idea’.
Although they acknowledged the retail worker’s pleasant demeanour, they were taken aback: ‘She was really nice and friendly but it’s still a weird request to a stranger.
She offered me the cash and I said I’d get it when her item arrived. What was wrong with me! A normal human would just say no, or make an excuse… but no… I’m a tit.
‘Have you ever done anything stupid to avoid saying no?’
One Redditor admitted: ‘ I got off the bus three stops early because a stranger told me this was my stop and I was too polite to tell them it wasn’t.’
Another hilariously confessed: ‘I was once on a quiet coach on the train with my headphones on but nothing playing. A guy asked me to turn my music down so I just pretend to do so’.
A more absurd tale was an exchange between neighbours.
‘My upstairs neighbour (who I’d only ever said hello to) once asked me to drive her into town and park outside her ex-boyfriend’s apartment building to spy on who was coming in and out of the building because she saw some comment on a friend’s Facebook status that suggested she (her Facebook friend) was going over to see him.
‘We had to duck every time the door opened. It literally felt like I was in some weird rom-com scene!’
One Brit was so compelled to help out an elderly shopper, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her he didn’t work at B&Q.
‘I was at B&Q wearing an orange jumper, looking for a mirror bracket when an old lady came up to me and started asking me about bolts.
‘Before I could explain that I didn’t work there she proceeded to explain how it was for a cabinet in the bathroom which had been there since the house was built and her son had removed it for her so she could get a replacement.
‘And that’s the story of how I ended up helping an old lady find the correct bathroom hardware at B&Q’.