Survive a Bad Date

I've had a wonderful evening - but this wasn't it. ~Groucho Marx

If you play the dating game long enough, you're bound to bump into the inevitable bad date. Sometimes the person you're dating is a mess, sometimes you're the one doing everything wrong, and occasionally, the activities you planned turn into a disaster. Here's what to do.

Steps

 * 1) If you're botching up left and right, ask your date if you can start over: "I'm sorry, I'm really nervous, and I'm not being myself. Can I have a do-over?" Then take a deep breath and forget whatever you did that made you feel embarrassed, and start over. This will probably relieve your date, as well, who was probably getting worried that you're naturally like this!
 * 2) Be open-minded. If your date isn't what - or who - you expected, that's not necessarily bad. Are you irritated that he showed up wearing sweatpants and took you to Taco Bell? Maybe he's saving up to buy a house, and maybe he has an amazing sense of humor. Maybe he's gloriously unpretentious. Are you turned off by her constant chattering? Maybe she's just nervous, possibly because she genuinely likes you. Does your date seem a little creepy or awkward? Who knows? Maybe he or she has Asperger's. In other words, unless your date is being outright rude, don't be too quick to write them off.
 * 3) End it early. If, for whatever reason, you know you're not interested in dating this person anymore, the best thing to do is to end it. It may feel uncomfortable or cruel, but it's not kind to give someone a pity date, either (especially if they're paying). Say something like "Look, I'm really sorry, but I don't want to waste your time. For some reason, this isn't clicking for me. Do you mind if we cut this short?" Or, you can lie and pretend you feel sick, or have an emergency to tend to. If you don't have the courage to bail, though...
 * 4) Be laid back. So you're on a bad date. It's not the end of the world. It's probably just a few hours out of your life. Why not try just relaxing, and going with the flow? Whatever it is that you're doing, try to enjoy it. If you're eating, for example, focus on the food, instead of on how annoying your date is.
 * 5) Find the humor in the situation. Pay attention to every detail, so you can tell your friends and you can all laugh over it tomorrow. Come up with amusing metaphors for how disgusting, quiet, cheap, or whatever your date is being. Imagine you're a stand-up comedian, relating to an audience.
 * 6) Flirt with other people. You don't have to wait for this date to end before you start shopping for a new one! And who knows? Maybe someone you cross paths with while on this date will end up being "the one"--and you'll have an interesting story to tell when people ask how you met! If you're especially daring, you can ask someone to "save" you from this terrible date.

Tips

 * Try to remain polite. If you don't want to be on the date, end it. But if you don't want to end it, then play nice. Don't be rude. That's a passive aggressive way to say "I don't like you."
 * If your date is pushy or disrespectful, and you feel unsafe, you should end the date without hesitation.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Cope With Awkward Silence
 * How to Escape from a Drunken Date
 * How to Handle a Difficult Date
 * How to Date
 * How to Be a Good Date