From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbackhandedback‧hand‧ed /ˌbækˈhændɪd◂ $ ˈbækhændɪd/ adjective 1 ADMIREa backhanded remark or compliment seems to express praise or admiration but in fact is insulting2 DSa backhanded shot is a backhand shot
Examples from the Corpus
backhanded• This backhanded compliment is, in fact, a tribute to the imagination and commitment of community educators.• It is a backhanded note of dismissal, an explanation that is really an excuse.• The first crisis was a backhanded present from Yeltsin himself.• He was right in a backhanded sort of way.• The data might be read as a backhanded success for the Thatcher government.• Aristocratic criticism of royal rapacity was a backhanded tribute to that success. 