I stopped a little friend of mine the other day when he said “I don’t mean to sound mean, but…” to one of the other boys in the group. I jumped into the exchange and requested that he freeze his brain and not utter the rest of the sentence. I told him that the words would sound mean, no matter what he said in advance of them.
We should all watch for sentences that begin with:
- I don’t mean to sound mean, but…
- No offense, but…
- Don’t take this the wrong way, but…
The ends of those sentences will sound mean, offend someone or be taken as an insult so are all of these words are better left unsaid.
