Total Phrases- 4535
1 of 402

In-negative / Explaining url

Not doing work assignment on time

  1. I bit off more than I could chew.
  2. I didn’t accomplish as much as I thought I would.
  3. I took my best shot.
  4. That’s the best that I can do.
  5. It took me longer than I thought it would.
  6. I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately.
  7. I was sure I could do more in the time that I had.
  8. The whole thing blew up in my face.
  9. I promise to do better next time.
  10. I don’t know how to answer your question.
  11. It totally slipped my mind.
  12. I knew there was something I forgot to do.
  13. I have no excuse.

Not doing work assignment on time

In-negative / Explaining
2 of 402

Out-neutral / Negotiating url

Try to negotiate correctly & fairly-3

  1. Don’t go back on your word.
  2. Let’s get back to basics.
  3. Give me a fair shake.
  4. I think you’re just trying to soften me up.
  5. Don’t jump to conclusions.
  6. Don’t put me on the spot.
  7. Be up front with me, and don’t go behind my back.
  8. I wouldn’t be too sure of yourself if I were you.
  9. You’d better be on the level.
  10. Don’t whittle away at me.
  11. It seems like everything I say falls on deaf ears.
  12. I’m a man of principle, and I’m not going to compromise my principles or standards to stoop and do something like that.
  13. I’m not made of money.

Try to negotiate correctly & fairly-3

Out-neutral / Negotiating
3 of 402

In-negative / Doubt url

Someone saying he’s going on a new starvation diet

  1. It’s too high a price to pay.
  2. What gave you that idea?
  3. I just can’t picture it.
  4. You can’t believe everything you read.
  5. Boy, do you bounce from one extreme to another.
  6. I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re wasting your time.
  7. I’m sure you will, but I don’t give it much of a chance of success.
  8. The odds are against it.
  9. Where have I heard all of this before?
  10. I hope you know what you’re doing.
  11. You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt.

Someone saying he’s going on a new starvation diet

In-negative / Doubt
4 of 402

Out-neutral / Advice url

When someone is trying to pick a fight with you.

  1. Leave it alone.
  2. Don’t make an issue of it.
  3. You don’t have to answer every dog that barks.
  4. If you don’t let it drop, it’s going to escalate.
  5. Just because someone throws down the gauntlet, doesn’t mean you have to pick it up.
  6. Leave it well enough alone.
  7. Just ignore it.
  8. Don’t pay it any mind.
  9. Let it be.
  10. I can assure you, nothing good is going to come from this.
  11. Two wrongs don't make a right.
  12. Just walk away, and pretend that it never happened.
  13. You should know better than that.
  14. Sometimes it's better to say nothing at all in response.
  15. If you don't respond, it will all just blow over as if nothing happened.
  16. One word can lead to another, until it's a fire that's hard to put out.
  17. Don't make an issue out of it.
  18. I've seen it happen countless number of times before, and it always has the same bad, stupid ending.
  19. The sad thing about it, is that it's so preventable.
  20. Take a deep breath, don't respond, and walk away.
  21. Discretion is the better part of valor.
  22. These things lead to no good.
  23. Don’t get sucked into the game their playing.
  24. Nothing good is going to come from this.
  25. It always has the same bad ending, so nip it in the bud.
  26. A wise person thinks twice, before saying nothing.

When someone is trying to pick a fight with you.

Out-neutral / Advice
5 of 402

Out-positive / Encouragement url

For a friend who is depressed

  1. I never promised you a rose garden.
  2. You’re putting up a brave front.
  3. It can’t be as bad as all that.
  4. You have to look at the bright side.
  5. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
  6. Alright, get it out of your system.
  7. I know how you feel.
  8. It’s a step in the right direction.
  9. I think you can figure this out for yourself.
  10. With a bit of luck and hard work it will all work out fine in the end.
  11. You have to look yourself in the eye and ask yourself plain and simple, with all your abilities, what’s holding you back from fulfilling more of your potential?
  12. It looks worse than it really is.
  13. Don’t you worry, you will be fine.
  14. Do the best you can.
  15. What’s eating you?
  16. You have your whole life ahead of you.

For a friend who is depressed

Out-positive / Encouragement
6 of 402

In-negative / Explaining url

Coming late for an appointment

  1. I just plum forgot.
  2. It slipped my mind.
  3. Forgive me, I just didn’t remember.
  4. I didn’t do it on purpose.
  5. I hope you understand.
  6. Please don’t take it personally.
  7. I knew I forgot something.
  8. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends.
  9. I’ve been crazy busy lately.
  10. I have a lot on my plate.
  11. The time just slipped through my fingers.
  12. I just have no sense of time.

Coming late for an appointment

In-negative / Explaining
7 of 402

Out-neutral / Advice url

Realistic-2

  1. The main question is, do you think you deserve better, and are you willing to make the effort to make the changes to make that happen?
  2. You get out of life only what you put into it.
  3. I didn’t mean to burst your bubble.
  4. You should know better that that.
  5. I think you’re just beating your head against a wall.
  6. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
  7. You will reap what you sow.
  8. Beggars can't be choosers.
  9. You’ve got a long way to go.
  10. Let that be a lesson to you.
  11. Don’t buck the system.
  12. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
  13. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
  14. It doesn’t have to be that way.
  15. No, no, no, you’ve got it all wrong.

Realistic-2

Out-neutral / Advice
8 of 402

Out-neutral / Observation url

About Others – Negative-2

  1. She’s as skinny as a rail.
  2. She’s as cold as a fish.
  3. He’s loosing his nerve.
  4. She’s gone overboard, and I don’t see that there’s any restraint in what she’s doing.
  5. He’s torn apart inside.
  6. She’s crying her eyes out.
  7. She wouldn’t lift a finger.
  8. I don’t think he’ll be very pleased.
  9. I feel bad for him.
  10. He’s really off the wall.
  11. He’s having trouble making ends meet.
  12. His stomach’s a bottomless pit.
  13. He thinks that everything is coming to him.

About Others – Negative-2

Out-neutral / Observation
9 of 402

Out-neutral / Advice url

Expand your choices

  1. Don’t knock it till you try it.
  2. Reach for the stars.
  3. Reach for the sky.
  4. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
  5. Give it one more try.
  6. Don’t snub your nose at it.
  7. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
  8. It depends on what you want to do.

Expand your choices

Out-neutral / Advice
10 of 402

In-negative / Desperation url

Losing a bundle in an investment scam

  1. I always seem to fall into the same trap.
  2. I’m in deep trouble.
  3. When am I going to stop making the same mistake over and over again?
  4. It scared the living daylights out of me.
  5. I could have kicked myself.
  6. I could just kill myself.
  7. I'm shaken to the core.
  8. The thing that pains me so much is that the disaster was so unnecessary and so avoidable.
  9. Sometimes the things that I feared the most, turn out to be the least of my worries.
  10. I'm pulling my hair out.

Losing a bundle in an investment scam

In-negative / Desperation
11 of 402

In-positive / Surprise url

A friend wins a big prize

  1. That’s a nice surprise.
  2. It’s like something out of a movie.
  3. You’re pulling my leg.
  4. Now how do you like that?
  5. I was so surprised when it happened.
  6. Get a load of this.
  7. Good heavens!
  8. Well blow me down.
  9. So what do you know?

A friend wins a big prize

In-positive / Surprise
12 of 402

Out-neutral / Advice url

Stronger-2

  1. Play it to the hilt.
  2. Stick to your guns.
  3. You have to stand on your own two feet.
  4. Give it your all.
  5. Don’t be such a wimp.
  6. Hang tight.
  7. No pain no gain.
  8. You’re on your own.
  9. Don’t underestimate yourself.
  10. Give it you’re best.
  11. Show what you are made of.
  12. Try your best to keep in mind the basic rules of success.
  13. See it through to the end.
  14. Success breeds success.

Stronger-2

Out-neutral / Advice