Bless Your Heart!

One of the online booksellers features "statistically improbable phrases" (SIPs) that appear in any given book. I think this feature is intended to help a reader figure out if the book addresses a topic of interest in any depth.

In any case, over the last couple of weeks I've been getting the statistically improbably phrase, "Well, bless your heart!" A lot. From wildly different people in a broad range of situations.

What do people mean when they say this? It sounds patronizing to me, as if they believe I'm naive or stupid. Translation: "You poor deluded fool!"