4 Zodiacs That Often Miss Social Cues

There are two types of people in this world: Those who want to be left alone and those who won’t leave you alone.

But even most people who want to be left alone hesitate being direct about it, because telling someone to leave you alone is understandably taken as an insult. When another person’s feelings are involved, sometimes honesty is not the best policy. Just blurting out “You annoy me, you emit a foul and unpleasant odor, and I’d rather have a tooth pulled without anesthesia than ever suffer being in your presence again” might not only hurt their feelings—it might make them into a lifelong enemy who swears to hunt you down and torment you until your dying day.

That’s why people drop hints. Maybe they won’t return your texts. Maybe they keep making excuses for why they can’t hang out. Maybe they’re kind and considerate and want to spare you the heartache of telling you exactly why they want you to leave them alone.

Here are four zodiac signs who can’t take a hint. Three of them can’t take a hint because of social awkwardness and difficulty in reading cues. The other is such an egomaniac, they can’t even hear what you’re saying until you start screaming.

1. Sagittarius

The Archer is, by nature, an intensely honest sign—in fact, they are the embodiment of what people mean when they say “Honest to a fault.” They say what they mean and mean what they say, and they’ll even spend an entire afternoon trying to explain the subtle differences between the two. If you ask them what they think of your new hairstyle, they won’t beat around the bush—they’ll say it makes your nose look bigger without even pausing to consider that it may hurt you. But since they also assume that everyone else is as honest as they are, when you say that you have prior engagements and can’t spend the evening with them, they’ll ask exactly what those prior engagements are, forcing you to make up lies on the spot. If you want them to leave you alone, this is what you have to say: “I want you to leave me alone.”

2. Capricorn

Except for Sagittarius, the Goat would be the literal GOAT—i.e., Greatest of all Time—in not getting a hint. It’s not that they refuse to take a hint; it’s just that they don’t pick up on subtle cues. Even if you’re at a party and have been polite to them and say that you’ve had a nice time and need to go, they’ll continue talking and reminiscing and regaling you with story after story. Even if you say, “It’s been swell, but my car is literally on fire outside and I need to go and put the fire out,” you might as well be talking to a wall. Instead of hinting, or even being direct, what you need to do in such circumstances is run away as fast as you can.

3. Scorpio

Although Scorpios are best-known for being dark and mysterious to others, it goes both ways—others can be a complete mystery to them as well, and sometimes you have to S-P-E-L-L things out to them in plain English if you want to have even a wisp of a chance of a hope of being understood. But since this intense water sign is also one of the most emotional and vindictive characters in the zodiac, directness and candor probably won’t do you any good. If you want them to leave you alone, it’s best to come up with a convincing lie. Just make sure that they have no way of fact-checking whether you really have a sick aunt who will demand all of your free time for the next five or ten years.

4. Leo

The Lion seems like an odd choice because unlike the other signs on this list, Leos aren’t hobbled by social awkwardness. Instead, they’re blinded by their own egos. This charismatic fire sign ruled by the Sun isn’t used to people saying “No” to them. They’re so busy marching to the beat of their own drum, they don’t pick up on the rhythm that you’re laying down. They’re so in love with the sound of their own voice, they can’t hear what you or anyone else is saying. They are so used to being admired and lavished with praise that they don’t realize when someone’s distancing themselves. In fact, you could have left the party an hour ago, and it won’t be until they finally pause to take a breath that they realize you’re already gone.