Repost by irthereforeiam
Having come up through the journalism side, words and phrases have always intrigued me. Obviously, the way something is said can have an impact on its meaning (to wit: “I’d like to say it has been a pleasure” — I’d “like” to say that; however, I can’t because I’d be lying). I think you get the idea.
Having come up through the journalism side, words and phrases have always intrigued me. Obviously, the way something is said can have an impact on its meaning (to wit: “I’d like to say it has been a pleasure” — I’d “like” to say that; however, I can’t because I’d be lying). I think you get the idea.
Oftentimes, something meant as a compliment can go somewhat awry. For instance, I was at a store recently and the young saleswoman complimented me on my pocket square, adding, “My grandfather used to wear one…” Thank you, I think… However, I’m sure it was an innocent comment.
So without further ado, I offer some common phrases and their interpretations…
| When They Say… | They Really Mean… |
| With all due respect… | You bloody moron… |
| I beg to differ… | How can you be so stupid… |
| This won’t take you too long… | I don’t care. I’m not the one doing the work… |
| We really need your leadership on this one… | You’re it. Everybody else had a good excuse… |
| I really want push back… | As long as you agree with everything I say… |
| Truthfully… | I’m about to lie… |
| At the end of the day… | I can’t think of any other way to end the discussion… |
| This just needs a little work… | It’ll take you about three hours just to read my writing… |
| It’s your decision… | You’ll regret it… |
| Tell me about yourself (at a job interview)… | I haven’t had a chance to look at your resume… |
| We’re sorry… | We got caught… |
| You need to communicate better… | You need to agree with me… |
| Trust me… | I’m lying… |
| I haven’t reviewed it in depth yet… | This is incomprehensible… |
I’m sure you, my wonderful readers, will have expressions you’d like to add. Please feel free to do so.
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