Pet Peeve
Hedging. It's my latest and greatest pet peeve.
If you say, "No offense, but..." you know what you're saying is going to be taken as offensive.
If you say, "I apologize, but..." you haven't really apologized. You've probably just said something offensive, or wish to get the last word in, prefaced with an apology, knowing that the societal expectation is to accept or deny the apology regardless of the words that follow it.
Hedging is somewhere on my pet peeve list above Loud, Intimate Cell Phone Conversations On The Bus, but below That Guy Who Sits In His Car In The Parking Space With The Reverse Lights On But Not Moving Any Time Soon.
If you say, "No offense, but..." you know what you're saying is going to be taken as offensive.
If you say, "I apologize, but..." you haven't really apologized. You've probably just said something offensive, or wish to get the last word in, prefaced with an apology, knowing that the societal expectation is to accept or deny the apology regardless of the words that follow it.
Hedging is somewhere on my pet peeve list above Loud, Intimate Cell Phone Conversations On The Bus, but below That Guy Who Sits In His Car In The Parking Space With The Reverse Lights On But Not Moving Any Time Soon.