Out-negative / Annoyed url
Listen to me-1
- Do I have to spell it out for you?
- I don’t suppose it ever dawned on you.
- You’re as thick as a brick.
- It seems that I can’t get through to you.
- I hope you get the message.
- You better get this straight.
- It goes in one ear and out the other.
- I’m going to give you a piece of my mind.
- You’re barking up the wrong tree.
- Don’t waste your breath.
- You’ve got to be kidding.
Listen to me-1
Out-positive / Agreement url
I think it’s good that you’ve been going to sleep earlier and getting more sleep.
- I’m glad you approve.
- You better believe it!
- That’s the understatement of the year.
- That’s exactly how I feel about it.
- I can feel the improvement already.
I think it’s good that you’ve been going to sleep earlier and getting more sleep.
Out-neutral / Advice url
Caution-1
- Look before you leap.
- You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
- Don’t quit your day job.
- I wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole.
- It’s going to be harder and take longer than you anticipate.
- That's better left unsaid.
- There’s many a slip between the cup and the lip.
- Take a closer look.
- I wouldn’t do that if I were you.
- Don’t take chances.
- You’re going to be sorry.
- Curiosity killed the cat.
- You should know better than that.
- He’s all bark and no bite.
- Better to be safe than sorry.
- Even though he’s well intentioned, he ends up doing a lot of damage anyway.
- The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- Let's keep on the safe side.
- That is vastly overrated.
Caution-1
In-positive / Realizing url
Finding out 'who did it' at the end of a mystery novel
- I could see it right from the beginning.
- I suspected as much.
- It finally dawned on me.
- That explains everything!
- That’s it, in a nutshell.
- It was the missing link.
- Just put two and two together, and it all makes sense.
- I saw it coming, because though it didn’t seem so at first, in retrospect it was a dead give away.
- It will do it to you every time.
- It was on the tip of my tongue all along.
- That never would have occurred to me.
- I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me.
Finding out 'who did it' at the end of a mystery novel
In-negative / Doubt url
Being told you should convince the company president to change policy
- That’s like the tail wagging the dog.
- That’s not the way to go about doing it.
- I don’t think that will work out so well.
- He won’t go for that.
- It might have just the opposite from the intended effect.
- The effort could boomerang on our heads.
- He might not take it the right way.
- You’ve got to be kidding!
- It’s not worth it.
Being told you should convince the company president to change policy
In-negative / Explaining url
Waking up after being drunk
- When I woke up I was so disoriented that at first I couldn’t remember where I was.
- I don’t know what to tell you.
- I’m wiped out.
- My head is pounding.
- I feel totally depleted.
- I went into a tailspin.
- I’m going to take a short walk outside just to clear my head.
- I was caught red-handed.
- I’ve been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
- The bottom line is that I just couldn’t help it.
- Don’t remind me.
- I feel like I’ve been dragging myself around all day.
- I need more shut-eye.
- It knocked the wind knocked out of me.
Waking up after being drunk
In-neutral / Acceptance url
Someone dropping the vase
- I don’t blame you for it.
- Boys will be boys.
- It’s over and done with.
- There’s one in every crowd.
- The damage is done.
- Things are rough all over.
- It’s not my place to judge.
- It’s been known to happen.
- I guess we’re just going to have to live without it.
Someone dropping the vase
In-positive / Confidence url
Using a new recipe for a meal
- I heard it directly from the horse’s mouth.
- Trust me I know what I’m doing.
- It’s as easy as 1-2-3.
- Maybe that’s all I have to do to make it work.
- That’s the way I like it.
- It’s as easy as pie.
- I’ve done it before, I’m totally capable of doing it again.
- I can handle it myself.
- It’s as easy as that.
- It’s a piece of cake!
- I can do it with one hand tied behind my back.
- The proof is in the pudding.
Using a new recipe for a meal
In-neutral / Acceptance url
Taking bad tasting medicine
- It all goes into the same stomach.
- Life’s not a bowl of cherries.
- Is that so terrible?
- It could be worse.
- It’s not all that bad.
- You have to take the good with the bad.
Taking bad tasting medicine
In-positive / Confidence url
Preparing for a test
- I can do it with my eyes shut.
- I know it like the back of my hand.
- I’ve got it under control.
- I think I’ll be able to muddle through for a while.
- I made a lot of progress.
- I can cope with it.
- It will be a breeze.
- I'm holding my own.
- My head is still above water.
- So far so good.
- Every few hours I just run out of steam and need to rest awhile until I get my energy back.
- I’m holding my own.
Preparing for a test
In-negative / Explaining url
Throwing out a bag of laundry by mistake
- How was I supposed to know?
- What did I do this time?
- That never would have occurred to me.
- I wish I had known.
- I had no way of knowing.
- OK, I’m not perfect.
- I apologize profusely.
- It was totally unintentional.
- There’s nothing I can do about it now.
- My humble apologies.
- Sorry about that.
- If I knew what I was doing, I certainly wouldn’t have done it.
- I certainly didn’t do it on purpose.
- They looked so similar that I had no way of knowing.
- It came as a surprise to me.
- I’m awfully sorry.
- How was I supposed to know that?
Throwing out a bag of laundry by mistake
In-neutral / Acceptance url
Not catching a fish
- Kiss this one goodbye.
- It’s not like I have much of a choice.
- I’ll be darned if I can help it.
- That’s the way it is.
- It’s not that bad.
- There’s not much I can do about it now.
- I’m going to let bygones be bygones.
Not catching a fish