They’d be better off getting someone to phone in dead on their behalf. But show up half an hour late whistling Bennie and the Jets as if nothing happened? They have no respect for your precious time. That said, trains get delayed, traffic crawls, and bosses always ask to “borrow you for five minutes” just as you’re heading out the door, so if the date texts regular updates on the delay and their ETA, we can forgive. Your timekeeping is the biggest first impression you’ll ever make, unless you arrive with a balloon animal under each arm.

In fact, if you turn up bang on time, you’re late. First impressionsĪrrives late Even seconds late is bad.

Can you really tell from the way someone acts that dating them would be your biggest mistake since the night of the seven absinthes? Having observed more courting couples than I care to remember, these are the little red flags no self-respecting singleton can afford to ignore. The clueless romantics among us may struggle to identify ostensibly harmless behaviour as a sign of impending doom, but it all starts with the first date. It’s an instantly recognisable hazard warning – little red flag emojis alongside a screenshot of a pre-date message or social media post are enough to say stay away. Instagram and TikTok froth with posts listing telltale signs you’re on to a loser, and the definition of a red flag is rather fluid, incorporating the ancient concept of a turn-off and the newer, more visceral and niche “ick”. Now, it’s widened to include far pettier things marking out potential love matches as time-wasters, dimwits or shaggers. Red flags started out with a serious mission: to alert women to signs of potential coercive control within their relationship – for example, being isolated from their friends, manipulating their recollection of events, and limiting their freedom and autonomy. Innocent mistake? Simple bad manners? Worse: it’s a red flag. And then, as you reach for the last chunk of focaccia … BAM! He licks every one of his fingers, grabs the bread and rips it in two – offering you the smallest half. Picture it, a romantic restaurant, the perfect first date: the lights are low, the music soft, the food exquisite, and the flirting is moving from playful to saucy at just the right pace.

Red flags game online