what people say and mean...funny stuff

found this on Audio Asylum, thought it'd be a great read for everybody

Diplomacy is the art of style over content, here are some examples of expressions and their diplomatic translation I have learnt from the forums:



"With respect,..." You are about to be insulted.
"With all due respect..." You are about to be deeply insulted.
"With the greatest respect..." Get an umbrella and raincoat, it's a ****- storm.
"In my opinion..." You don't know what you are talking about.
"Just my opinion..." My opinion is superior to yours.
"In my humble opinion..." I'm so superior to you, I'd better try and tone it down a bit.
"YMMV..." I have no idea if this is will work.
"OTOH..." There are at least two sides to this issue I have identified so far, probably.
"In my experience..." Shut up and listen, you newbie.
"FWIW..." Ignore my opinion at your peril.
"To each their own.." Bite me.
"In the scheme of things..." You don't see the big picture, stupid.
"You don't see the big picture..." In the scheme of things, you are stupid.
"Been there, done that..." I used to as stupid as you are.
"It's a no- brainer..." Just by asking proves you are stupid.
"I can see both sides of the argument..." OK. So you have made a teensy weensy tiny little point you son of a bitch, but I'm not budging one inch!

With the greatest respect, in my humble opinion, for what it's worth, the appropriate use of the above expressions means you can have a heated exchange with another inmate without resorting to insults.