Scenes of In-negative
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 / Desperation url
Running away from the Cossacks
- I’m knee deep in alligators.
- I’ve got to get a handle on the situation before it’s too late.
- The people around me are dropping like flies.
- I’m going out of my mind.
- It’s a matter of life and death.
- I’m overcome with fear.
- I just can’t deal with it anymore.
- What going on here?
- I just can’t put up with it any longer.
- It’s every man for himself.
- What else have I got?
Running away from the Cossacks
In-negative / Explaining url
Coming home drunk
- I couldn’t help myself.
- I guess things got to me.
- I did it on the spur of the moment.
- My head is spinning.
- I’m about to drop.
- Unfortunately it’s become my security blanket.
- It’s been a rough night.
- I feel like a worn out dish rag.
- With a little bit of luck things will soon get back to normal.
- The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
- I could use some moral support.
- I hate to admit it, but it was beyond my control.
- I’ve never had any problems in that area before.
- There’s a first time for everything.
- You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
- I'm going through a rough time.
Coming home drunk
In-negative / Disappointment url
Dropping out of Law School
- I didn’t accomplish as much as I thought I would.
- So far I haven’t seen much progress.
- I’m batting zero.
- It’s nobody’s fault but my own.
- It’s not going anywhere, so why continue?
- I’m dropping out before it gets any worse.
- With my track record, I don’t think I have much of a choice.
- I’m a bit disappointed in my performance.
- I fully expected that I could have done better than I did.
- I just wasn’t good enough.
- It was just beyond my reach.
- It’s been an unmitigated disaster.
Dropping out of Law School
In-negative / Desperation url
Losing a lot of money in the stock market
- They’ve got the deck stacked against us.
- I’ve been cut off at the knees.
- So much of the time I feel that I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.
- I’m behind the eight ball.
- Boy, was that a mistake.
- Back to the salt mines.
- I feel like I’ve been raked over the coals.
- I’m running out of steam.
Losing a lot of money in the stock market
In-negative / Explaining url
Apartment is a mess
- I can only do what I can do.
- I try not the pay attention to these things.
- What difference does it make anyway?
- There’s a method to the madness.
- I’m getting nowhere fast.
- I’m on a tight schedule, and it just doesn’t leave me time for these things.
- I’m strapped for time.
- You can understand, can’t you?
- In the large scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter, does it?
- I just have a different set of priorities than you do.
- I haven’t gotten around to it yet.
- Out of sight, out of mind.
- At least I know where everything is.
Apartment is a mess
In-negative / Explaining url
After investing in worthless land
- I fell for it hook, line and sinker.
- I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
- I should have known.
- It seemed like the right to do thing at the time.
- It took me totally by surprise.
- I was talked into it.
- The thought that this would be such a bad decision never crossed my mind.
- There’s not a whole lot I can do about it at this point.
- That never would have dawned on me.
- I didn’t see it coming.
- In theory that was how it was supposed to play out, but in actuality that’s not what happened.
- How was I supposed to know that?
- It beats me how that could have happened.
- It was an honest mistake.
- It could happen to anyone.
- I’m sorry that things didn’t work out the way I expected them to.
- I found out the hard way.
- The thought never even crossed my mind.
- That was something I wasn’t even aware of.
- Frankly, it’s just not something I could have anticipated.
- That’s something I just didn’t count on.
- They really took me to the cleaners.
- I must admit, from the beginning the whole thing wasn’t clear to me, and went way over my head.
- I was a sitting duck.
- I was being penny wise and pound foolish.
After investing in worthless land
In-negative / Desperation url
Losing a bundle in an investment scam
- I always seem to fall into the same trap.
- I’m in deep trouble.
- When am I going to stop making the same mistake over and over again?
- It scared the living daylights out of me.
- I could have kicked myself.
- I could just kill myself.
- I'm shaken to the core.
- The thing that pains me so much is that the disaster was so unnecessary and so avoidable.
- Sometimes the things that I feared the most, turn out to be the least of my worries.
- I'm pulling my hair out.
Losing a bundle in an investment scam
In-negative / Explaining url
After getting too angry at the kids
- I lost control.
- This is what I have to deal with all the time.
- Things got the better of me.
- I’m a bit overwhelmed.
- I wasn’t myself.
- I was caught off-guard.
- It goes with the territory.
- I’ve been a little on edge.
- I meant well.
- I hope you understand.
- That’s easy for you to say, but put yourself in my shoes.
- I just got carried away.
After getting too angry at the kids
In-negative / Doubt url
To friend who claims he knows how to win the lottery
- The chances of that happening are pretty close to zero.
- How do you figure that?
- You don’t say?
- Don’t count on it.
- You can’t mean that.
- It doesn’t work that way.
- That’s what they all say.
- How can you be so cock-sure of yourself?
- It’s all in your head.
- It’s not very likely to happen that way.
- It’s about time you started being realistic.
- Wake up and smell the coffee.
To friend who claims he knows how to win the lottery
In-negative / Explaining url
Trying to fix work-mate’s computer
- I found the problem, but I just need time to fix it.
- I’m a little rusty.
- I’m working on it.
- I've hit a brick wall.
- I tried my best, but I guess that just wasn’t good enough.
- It doesn’t look like I’m making much headway.
- Oh well, it was worth a try.
- It may look simple, but it's really complicated.
- You can’t blame a fellow for trying.
- I’m sorry that it just didn’t work out.
- Back to the drawing board.
- I got more than I bargained for.
- That’s easier said than done.
- It was a shot in the dark.
- That’s what I could do.
- I’m sure you were expecting more from me.
- I’m trying my best.
- That’s the only thing I can think of.
Trying to fix work-mate’s computer
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