So they'd remain silent, because they know their compliment would be wrongly construed as an insult by their peers. But why? Because so and so said so, thinks so?

And in their silence they'd further suffer/indulge in their sadness for failing to try at all because they know what others think.

Or they'd land the compliment and the burden of their sadness would lift, but not so much more than the weight of a needle on a camel's back.

Maybe the saddest figure would not be able to speak anyway. The prospect of will and motion would be too sad... or so sad as transcend/dissolve any self recognition of sadness. The attribution would come from second and third parties and the internal state of the "sad" person might be ineffable.

"Look how sad that guy is?"

"That isn't a sad guy, that's a catatonic statue, lost in the bliss of oblivion."

"Sad from my point of view and from the Queen's. RIP. There is poo all over him and that's sad."

I like where you're going with this. May be we could turn it into a game if sorts.

I like where you're going with this. — Agent Smith

Not sure where this is going. You've yet to elaborate.

Are you drawing a connection between what perceived social status confers on the value of a compliment? The saddest person might have then have extremely low status for you. So like a girl in the movie Mean Girls, you say on reception of said compliment from notoriously sad Megan: "Ewwww, Megan, go join the pigs in the cafeteria, and stop insulting me with your gross ass compliments. You'll never be our friend."

:grin:

Something like that. :up:

As a specific case of sorrow and as a general case of agony.

A list of relevant words/word phrases: Pain, unhappy, sad, sorrow, anguish, agony, grief, loss, glum, gloom, doom, excruciate, torment, angst, the blues, the doldrums, hell/ish, nightmare, etc.

Pain, unhappy, sad, sorrow, anguish, agony, grief, loss, glum, gloom, doom, excruciate, torment, angst, the blues, the doldrums, hell/ish, nightmare, etc. — Agent Smith

It is interesting because all of those words, despite of being related to sadness, tend to be the most influential towards writers and philosophers.

It would be interesting to do a lexical analysis of writing - which groups prefer which words to express what is essentially, in Buddhist terms, dukkha.

Fully agree with you, friend. Lexical analysis is very complex but interesting. I am not confident enough to debate on it... I don't have such criteria or knowledge.
Probably in the future!

:up: