Comments on: Choose Your Words Carefully!

By: Middle Zone Musings » What I Learned From Chaos

Middle Zone Musings » What I Learned From Chaos — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:30:55 +0000

[...] week I mentioned our trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil. For two weeks we traveled all over that incredible city, but I gotta say, if I had to pick one [...]

By: Robert Hruzek

Robert Hruzek — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:38:28 +0000

@ Mike - Yeah, I left out “Thank you” - an essential phrase for anywhere in life, the universe, and everything! In fact, check out the upcoming issue of Great Quotes for a good one about that! (Thursday)

@ Amy - That’s hilarious! But speaking for husbands everywhere, you should know that we are always flattered when our wives compliment our bums!

By: amypalko

amypalko — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:06:33 +0000

My husband is Hungarian, and when we married I began to learn some basic phrases. I actually took great pride and pleasure at my husband’s surprise, when I articulated a phrase in Hungarian at an appropriate moment. I remember practicing “Bless you” for when he next sneezed, but when the moment arrived, and I announced my Hungarian “bless you”, my husband couldn’t stop laughing. Apparently I said “God bless your bum”! I didn’t say anything in Hungarian for about 2 years after that…

By: Mike DeWitt

Mike DeWitt — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:44:41 +0000

Bob,

You forgot two of the big four traveler phrases:

Hello - you got it

Where is the bathroom - always essential

I’d like a [beer/coffee/water - your pick] - don’t leave home without it

Thank you - makes up for not knowing all the others!

Mike

By: Robert Hruzek

Robert Hruzek — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:21:05 +0000

Deb, that’s happened to me a few times, too.

Your comment about sarcasm is interesting. I’m not sure sarcasm is ever really understood well online because so much of it’s interpretation depends on other cues besides the words themselves - most of which are impossible to put into print.

It’s one reason I rarely, if ever, try it (in fact, I don’t recall a time when I’ve ever used it online). When I re-read what I’ve written it always comes across badly.

Have you ever been able to use it successfully? I’d be interested to see it.

By: Deb

Deb — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:10:17 +0000

I am sometimes misunderstood in my writing. I think I’ve made myself perfectly clear and then someone will leave me a comment that’s picked up on something I didn’t quite mean. It’s also hard to get the right tone at times. People don’t always understand sarcasm in print.