Sticky sweet emotional syrup

Stuff that you get from people who act totally, obviously, fake. I often notice a form of this manivesting around young children, ("Would you like to go to McDonalds, sweetie? Would ya? Would ya?). It is usually present in an exchange between two people who could secretly care less about each other. ("Hiiiiiiiii! How are you?)This is almost worse than annoyance, rudeness or anger, because it gives you the sense that the other person regards you as inferior or meaningless.

I used to work in an office with two people who were annoyingly effusive. They greeted everybody like a long-lost relative, which got on my nerves until I realized that it was either meaningless, or ironic. It was just noise they enjoyed making, and it probably made some people feel good. After that I got a kick out of it.

But the best part was when these two greeted each other! It was like the Godzilla vs. Megalon of facile insincerity! It was like a reunion of twins who'd been in solitary confinement on different continents for a thousand years! I damn near fell off my chair every time. It was infinitely better than TV.

They were serious about their insincerity, and that made all the difference.