What you say may not be what others think you mean
Over at NevOn, a guide to how language leads us astray, especially in business: What you say may not be what others think you mean.
If I said to you ‘You must come over for dinner sometime,’ what would you think I meant?
You’d probably think, ‘That’s nice, he’s inviting me to dinner.’ Unless you’re British, that is. And then you’d know that I was just being polite and have no intention of inviting you to dinner. Ever.
This is a good example of the type of expression the British use to politely say something that is often not what the words being spoken actually mean. I’m a Brit, by the way, just to establish my credentials up front.
Very entertaining, especially the big table of “You say/ you mean / they hear”. It’s one of those really irregular verbs.
(Via NevOn.)
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