"My ick is..." — Hinge prompt answers

"My ick is..."Hinge answers that actually work

By Bhupendra Singh Chauhan, ReplySmooth founder · Updated 2026-05-04

On this page
  1. 01How to answer
  2. 02Ready-to-copy answers
  3. 03Answers that work
  4. 04Answers that fall flat
  5. 05Common questions
  6. 06Related prompts

How to answer "My ick is..." on Hinge

The prompt rewards naming one small specific turn-off calibrated as comedy, not as a real warning. Strong answers commit to a tiny absurd image and let the matcher in on the joke (the 'no offense' tic before the offense, the literally-meaning-literally callback, the slow pickle-jar struggle without asking for help). Weak ones disclose actual dealbreakers like 'liars and cheaters' in a meme frame, recycle TikTok-trend complaints about cargo shorts, or punch down on appearance and identity in ways that land cruel rather than funny.

120+ ready-to-copy "My ick is..." answers

Tap any line to copy. Pick a strategy chip to filter by angle. Edit before pasting — verbatim copies read flatter.

absurd then true · 9

  1. 1.A grown adult chasing a runaway hat down a street.
  2. 2.When someone takes a tiny photo of their menu. Why? For who? I will never know.
  3. 3.When a person walks into a room, looks around, and then leaves. We all saw it. We're all unsettled.
  4. 4.People who are mean to waiters. Also, ghosts who rearrange my spice rack. But mostly the waiters thing.
  5. 5.Alien invasions. And also, when people leave their shopping cart in the middle of a parking space.
  6. 6.I'm secretly terrified of butterflies. Also, people who don't return their library books on time.
  7. 7.Robots taking over the world. Also, when someone uses way too many emojis in one text.
  8. 8.Sasquatch. Not his fault, he seems nice. My real ick is people who honk their horn one millisecond after the light turns green.
  9. 9.Centaurs. Logistically, how do they sleep? Also, slow walkers who suddenly stop in front of you.

emotionally revealing · 11

  1. 10.When someone is obviously not listening and just waiting for their turn to talk.
  2. 11.When someone is late and doesn't send a quick text. I just imagine they've been abducted.
  3. 12.Getting a text that just says 'K.' The coldness. The finality. Chills.
  4. 13.When people say 'I'm bad with names.' I am too, but now I feel extra pressure.
  5. 14.When someone has their read receipts on but doesn't reply for three days. The suspense is killing me.
  6. 15.When someone says, 'you look tired.' I know. I have a mirror.
  7. 16.Being the only person who dressed up for a 'casual' event. My social anxiety skyrockets.
  8. 17.The phrase 'let's play it by ear.' My planner's heart can't take the uncertainty.
  9. 18.When the Wi-Fi is just one bar, but it won't give up. The false hope is cruel.
  10. 19.When you hold the door for someone and they don't say thank you. A tiny, silent betrayal.
  11. 20.People who don't like silence. The constant need for noise feels a little chaotic to me.

escalating stakes · 12

  1. 21.Leaving wet towels on the bed. It's a small crime, but a crime nonetheless.
  2. 22.People who don't use turn signals. It's a tiny lever! It's not that hard!
  3. 23.Talking during a movie at the theater. My popcorn will go flying. I'm not kidding.
  4. 24.Parking so badly that you take up two spots. It's a declaration of war on society.
  5. 25.People who walk incredibly slowly in a narrow hallway. Then stop. Then check their phone.
  6. 26.When someone's phone alarm goes off for ages and they don't turn it off.
  7. 27.People who recline their seat on a short flight. Directly into my knees. Into my soul.
  8. 28.People who eat my fries after saying they didn't want any. A betrayal of the highest order.
  9. 29.People who don't put their weights back at the gym. A true menace to society.
  10. 30.Being told to 'calm down' when I am, in fact, perfectly calm. Until then.
  11. 31.People whose phone keyboard clicks are on full volume. In a library. During finals week.
  12. 32.When the automatic paper towel dispenser gives you one tiny, useless square.

low stakes confession · 15

  1. 33.When someone laughs at their own joke before the punchline. I see what you're doing. I will not encourage it.
  2. 34.When the waiter brings the food and someone says 'wow, that was fast.' Was it?
  3. 35.Saying 'I could care less' instead of 'I couldn't care less.' My inner grammar nerd cries.
  4. 36.People who are aggressively positive before 9 AM. I need coffee before I can face that energy.
  5. 37.Saying 'long time no see' to someone I saw yesterday. My brain just glitches sometimes.
  6. 38.When I wave at someone who wasn't waving at me. I think about it for days.
  7. 39.That awkward little shuffle-dance you do when you try to walk past someone in a corridor.
  8. 40.When I tell a joke and have to explain it. The magic just... dies.
  9. 41.When I try to be cool and use a slang word incorrectly. The silence is deafening.
  10. 42.Forgetting someone's name literally seconds after they've told you it. Every single time.
  11. 43.Parallel parking while people are watching. The pressure is immense. I usually just drive away.
  12. 44.Pushing a 'pull' door. I do it every time, and a small part of my soul dies.
  13. 45.My phone autocorrecting a completely normal word to something bizarre. And I don't notice until after I hit send.
  14. 46.Trying to discreetly take a picture of my food in a nice restaurant. I always get caught.
  15. 47.When I confidently give someone directions and then realize halfway through that I'm completely wrong.

playful misdirection · 16

  1. 48.When people use 'literally' literally. Now I have to suspect you of irony every time.
  2. 49.When someone calls a Sunday 'productive.' The Sundays were not asking for that.
  3. 50.Anyone who says 'just sayin'' as a structural element of a sentence.
  4. 51.People who clap when the plane lands. I love you. I also have notes.
  5. 52.People who say 'I'm so OCD about it' to mean tidy. I have many small notes.
  6. 53.Anyone who waits to do their gym 'set' until you're walking past. The timing is too suspicious.
  7. 54.People who think pineapple on pizza is a personality trait. Let's talk about something real.
  8. 55.Saying you 'hate drama' while clearly being the main source of all the drama.
  9. 56.People who treat their zodiac sign like a legally binding contract for their bad behavior.
  10. 57.Saying 'no offense, but...' and then proceeding to say something very offensive.
  11. 58.People who don't like dogs. Just kidding. My real ick is people who call them 'fur babies.'
  12. 59.When someone's entire personality is being from a certain city. We get it, you like pizza.
  13. 60.People who talk about their 'brand.' Unless you're a box of cereal, you don't have one.
  14. 61.When someone says 'it's a long story' and doesn't tell it. Now I have to know.
  15. 62.When someone makes a big show of not owning a TV. We get it, you read books.
  16. 63.People who don't like tacos. I'm not saying it's a dealbreaker, but I am asking questions.

sensory anchor · 18

  1. 64.Watching someone struggle to open a stuck pickle jar for too long without asking for help.
  2. 65.Someone unwrapping a candy in a movie theater for ninety seconds straight.
  3. 66.Someone who says 'love that for you' in a flat voice. The flat voice is the whole crime.
  4. 67.The sound of a fork scraping against a plate. It haunts my dreams.
  5. 68.The feeling of a wet paper straw dissolving in my drink. A tragedy in three acts.
  6. 69.The word 'moist.' I know it's a classic, but it's a classic for a reason.
  7. 70.The smell of microwaved fish in an office breakroom. A universal sign of chaos.
  8. 71.The sound of someone slurping their soup. It echoes in my soul.
  9. 72.The texture of soggy bread. Just thinking about it gives me the shivers.
  10. 73.That sticky feeling on a floor after a party. It’s the ghost of good times past.
  11. 74.Hearing your own voice in a recording. Is that really what I sound like?
  12. 75.Walking through a spiderweb you didn't see. The rest of your day is just panic.
  13. 76.When someone chews ice. It's like nails on a chalkboard for my teeth.
  14. 77.The feeling of touching a wet doorknob. Where did the water come from? I don't want to know.
  15. 78.The sound of a dripping tap at 3 AM. It’s the official soundtrack to my anxiety.
  16. 79.The feeling of putting on a still-damp jacket. It's a uniquely damp form of misery.
  17. 80.When you think there's one more stair but there isn't. That little jolt of panic.
  18. 81.That one piece of hair that sticks to your lip gloss and you can't get it off.

specific detail · 24

  1. 82.When someone says 'no offense' before clearly intending to be offensive. The 'no offense' is doing zero work.
  2. 83.When someone reads the menu out loud. To themselves. Slowly.
  3. 84.People who ask 'is this seat taken?' at an empty table. The math isn't mathing.
  4. 85.Anyone who refers to their dog's birthday by year and breed. 'She's six, she's a Shiba.'
  5. 86.When someone claps when the plane lands. Every single time.
  6. 87.People who stand up the second the plane parks at the gate. We aren't going anywhere.
  7. 88.Baby talk. To me, not to an actual baby. Let's use our grown-up words, please.
  8. 89.Hearing someone say 'I'll have a water' and then drinking half of my cocktail.
  9. 90.When someone says they'll 'call you right back' and then you never hear from them again.
  10. 91.When someone asks for a bite of your food and takes, like, half of it.
  11. 92.Leaving time on the microwave. Just hit the clear button. It's for the good of humanity.
  12. 93.When someone asks a question in a meeting that was answered two minutes ago.
  13. 94.People who describe themselves as an 'entrepreneur' but don't seem to actually do anything.
  14. 95.Trying to split the bill down to the exact cent. Let's just round up and live our lives.
  15. 96.People who use their phone flashlight to look at the menu in a dimly lit restaurant.
  16. 97.When someone responds to a group text... in a private text to just me.
  17. 98.When someone over-explains a joke. The comedy coroner has arrived to declare it dead.
  18. 99.People who reply-all to a company-wide email to say 'thanks!'
  19. 100.People who take up the entire sidewalk. I'm not training for an obstacle course here.
  20. 101.When someone pronounces 'espresso' as 'expresso.' A small but significant coffee crime.
  21. 102.People who leave their dirty dishes in the sink 'to soak.' For three days.
  22. 103.A loud phone conversation on public transport. Bonus points if it's about something intensely personal.
  23. 104.People who are still debating 'The Dress' from 2015. It was blue and black. Let's move on.
  24. 105.When someone asks 'who's that?' about a famous actor in a movie. It breaks the magic.

tonal range · 15

  1. 106.When someone runs to catch a bus and almost makes it but doesn't. Sad. Devastating. Cinematic.
  2. 107.When someone holds a door open from way too far away. Now I have to jog. The favor is now a workout.
  3. 108.Using speakerphone for a personal call in a quiet, public place. The absolute audacity.
  4. 109.Referring to themselves in the third person. Unless they're a pro athlete, it's weird.
  5. 110.The phrase 'adulting is hard.' We know. Let's just buy the nice cheese and move on.
  6. 111.People who film entire concerts on their phone. Just... be there. Enjoy the moment.
  7. 112.Having a full-volume video call in the quiet car of a train. Anarchy. Pure anarchy.
  8. 113.Using 'lol' as punctuation at the end of a very serious sentence. The tone is confusing.
  9. 114.People who say 'let's agree to disagree' when they are clearly wrong. Just admit defeat.
  10. 115.The corporate jargon in a dating profile. I don't want to 'circle back' or 'touch base.'
  11. 116.People who are always 'just being brutally honest.' Sometimes a little gentleness is nice, you know?
  12. 117.The phrase 'new normal.' Can we please just go back to the old normal?
  13. 118.People who say 'I'm not a big reader.' That's fine, but don't say it like it's a medal of honor.
  14. 119.When someone's bio says 'fluent in sarcasm.' It often just means they're not very funny.
  15. 120.Talking about how busy you are. It's not a competition I want to win.

Three answers that work

specific detail

When someone says 'no offense' before clearly intending to be offensive. The 'no offense' is doing zero work and we both know it.

Why it works: Names a specific verbal tic that is universally recognized but rarely articulated. The 'we both know it' line invites the matcher into the joke and gives them a clean reply hook.

playful misdirection

When people use 'literally' literally. Like literally to mean 'literally'. Now I have to suspect you of irony every time.

Why it works: Self-aware grammar joke that lands by stacking the word against itself. The 'suspect you of irony' line is the calibration — the answer is silly, and the answerer knows it.

sensory anchor

Watching someone struggle to open a stuck pickle jar for too long without asking for help.

Why it works: Tiny observable image, mild and oddly specific. The 'too long' is doing the work — the answer would not work if it named pride directly; the visual does the lift.

Three answers that fall flat

dealbreaker

Liars and cheaters. Honestly the biggest icks of all.

Why it falls flat: Actual dealbreakers in an ick frame. The matcher reads processed grievance dressed as a meme; the prompt rewards the small absurd image, not the moral baseline that every adult shares.

tiktok trend

Men who wear cargo shorts. Or the wrong kind of trainers. Or socks with sandals.

Why it falls flat: Recycled TikTok-trend ick the matcher has seen 30 times this month. The answer reads as borrowed identity from internet rather than genuine personal observation, and filters out half the dating pool over fashion.

humblebrag

When people can't keep up with my schedule. I move fast and I need someone who matches the pace.

Why it falls flat: Humblebrag dressed as ick. The 'pace' is doing the flex work; the matcher reads the answerer using the prompt to signal impressiveness rather than naming a small specific aversion.

The matcher is reading this prompt for one calibrated absurd image — the small specific turn-off that lands as comedy because it's both real and funny. The strongest answers commit to a tiny observable thing (the 'no offense' tic, the literally-meaning-literally joke, the slow pickle-jar struggle) and let the matcher in on the joke. Two failures dominate. The actual-dealbreaker disclosure ('liars and cheaters') reads as processed grievance in a meme frame and tells the matcher the answerer doesn't yet know how the prompt works. The TikTok-trend recycle ('men in cargo shorts') borrows the joke and lands as identity-from-internet rather than genuine noticing. Pick the small weird thing you'd text a friend about.

The positive-space version of this is "Unusual things I need from a partner" — "my ick" is what you can't tolerate; "unusual things I need" is the same line drawn from the other side.

Reference: the official Hinge prompt system.

Common questions

What's a good "My ick is" answer for Hinge?

Name one small specific behavior or image with the calibration of comedy — the 'no offense' tic, the literally-meaning-literally joke, the slow pickle-jar struggle. The ick should be silly and oddly specific, not a real dealbreaker dressed in meme clothing.

Are there good "My ick is" answers for guys?

Same craft rule applies regardless of gender. The shared trap is reaching for cargo-shorts-tier TikTok recycles; the calibrated picks (the verbal tic, the small awkward image) outperform. Avoid icks about women's bodies or identities — wrong tone and wrong context for the prompt.

Is the "ick" prompt too negative for Hinge?

It can be when answered as a real dealbreaker or a punching-down joke; it's reclaimable when calibrated as a small absurd observation. The right register is 'this is silly and you're going to see it once you've noticed it'. Skip the prompt rather than ship a mean version.

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