People say the darnedest things. And by "people" we mean "male strangers."

And the darnedest things usually prompt this response: "I cannot believe you just said that."

That's if you can say anything at all, since most darnedest things tend to leave you speechless, particularly because you don't know whether the comment was intended as a compliment.

But we're proud to say we've invented a way to handle such annoyances. We're calling it the "Fank You."

Saying "fank you" covers your bases. If you don't know whether to say "thank you" or, well, swear at someone, you say, "Fank you." If their what-the-hell comment was a compliment, you've got "thank you" covered. If it wasn't, well, that's taken care of, too.

Here are a couple (sad) real-life examples of how "fank you" works.

Comment: "Even though I'm married, that doesn't stop me from flirting with girls with big booties."

The man thinks the women he was flirting with at the time were "girls with big booties." We recognize that some men would think a comment like that is a sweet thing to say. But some women who wouldn't appreciate it might not know whether they're being insulted. So, "Fank you, married man."

Comment: "I can't decide who's hotter, you or your friend."

While most guys are smart enough not to say this to our faces, it still counts because, sooner or later, it will get back to us.

We're supposed to take it as a compliment that we've got hot friends. If so, that's sweet. We do love our friends. But, you can see how we might be insulted.

Learn the "fank you." Embrace it. Trust us. It will come in handy.

E-mail Bridgette for photos of her hot friends at brwilliams@quickdfw.com.