20 First-Date Mistakes to Avoid

If you have a first date in the works, you've come to the right place. Advice columnist Dear Wendy reveals the 20 things you should not do — under any circumstances. Have you experienced any of these faux pas before?

I know some people are all about making mistakes over and over and over because it makes them so relatable or cool or whatever (trust: forgetting to send a thank-you note doesn't make you cool — it makes you a jerk), but I will continue to be a proponent of doing things the easy way — yes, the easy way! Because most of the time avoiding dumb mistakes is much easier than cleaning up the mess a mistake creates. So in that vein, check out these 20 first-date mistakes to avoid:

Related: Dear Wendy: His Wife Won't Leave Us Alone

1. Discussing what you discovered when you pre-date Googled each other.
2. Asking for a kiss. (If you have to ask, it ruins the mood. Just go for it — the worst that will happen is you'll get the hand.)
3. Begging for a kiss.
4. Proposing.
5. Checking your phone.
6. Letting the other person pay if you're the one who did the asking. Going dutch is not an appropriate first-date activity.
7. Quoting your therapist.
8. Showing too many pictures of your cats.
9. Wearing anything you'd wear to the beach if you aren't going to the beach.
10. Bringing uninvited friends along.

Related: The Six Things You Need For a Happy, Long-Term Relationship

11. Announcing it on Facebook.
12. Suggesting that your date is a "tease."
13. Admitting that you're crazy, even in a "joking" way.
14. Giving too many compliments (make three your limit).
15. Interviewing your date for the position of your significant other.
16. Discussing all your dietary quirks. No one cares.
17. Getting too drunk (again, three is a good limit for just about everything, including cocktails).
18. Forgetting to mention you have kids.
19. Talking about sex if you don't plan on having it on the first date.
20. Name-dropping anyone for the sake of impressing your date.

Related: Dear Wendy: I Suspect My Boyfriend Cheated With Another Man!