1. Patricia said she can’t wear fake gold jewelry the way I can because it turns her skin green, and I think she was giving me a backhanded compliment She was really letting everyone know that she wears real gold jewelry while the jewelry I have on is fake.
2. Paul is not a very nice person. He is always giving people backhanded compliments that sound like he is being nice when he is really just insulting them.

Compare to: damn with faint praise. The term backhanded combines the meaning of back meaning insincere or malicious and hand meaning to give.