"We came close to losing him."
I was at a panel at Comic Con NY on the weekend and a guest there was talking about how a fellow actor had been in a serious car accident during the last season of the TV show they were on. She used the phrase 'we almost lost him'. Another actress then started talking about it, and the moderator was about to go on the next question when the first actress suddenly interrupted him and said "I'm sorry, I said 'we almost lost him'. I should have said 'we came close to losing him.'"
Obviously the different phrasing was very important to her since she went back and corrected herself and apologized, but I really can't see any difference in meaning between the two phrases. Any thoughts? Is the first way of saying it somehow offensive?
(For more background info, I'm a native Australian English speaker; the actress was American.)
Obviously the different phrasing was very important to her since she went back and corrected herself and apologized, but I really can't see any difference in meaning between the two phrases. Any thoughts? Is the first way of saying it somehow offensive?
(For more background info, I'm a native Australian English speaker; the actress was American.)