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| ▲ | jimnotgym 5 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| There is the famous case in the Korean War at the Battle of Imjin River where the British commander of the Gloucestershire regiment reported to an American General, 'Things are a bit sticky, sir'. The American General thought that meant a good thing, like they were holding the line, when in fact they were fighting a heroic last stand outnumbered 25:1! https://www.warhistoryonline.com/korean-war/battle-of-imjin-... |
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| ▲ | mnw21cam 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| I certainly use the word "exciting" in ways that that might be non-standard, like for instance describing when everything has gone catastrophically wrong. |
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| ▲ | jimnotgym 5 hours ago | parent [-] | | It is almost as good as when Sir Humphrey told the minister his idea was 'courageous', meaning an enormous risk. |
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| ▲ | arethuza 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Also starting anything with "With the greatest respect..." |
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| ▲ | 1718627440 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| > If someone says "Interesting..." that can mean ... Same in German. |
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| ▲ | GJim 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| > "That's quite good" Ummmm...... I'll say it is "not bad". For me to say something is "quite good" it would have to make me cream myself. |
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| ▲ | jacquesm 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| 'Interesting' => 'you're stark raving mad but you're in the room with me so I'm going to be polite to you until I'm out of striking range'. |
