In-negative / Confusion url
Being given a bag of rocks for a present
- I don’t know what to do with it.
- What am I going to do with all this stuff?
- What does this mean?
- What do you mean by this?
- I’m almost afraid to ask.
- Do you mind telling me what this is about?
- Does it make any sense?
- I’m speechless.
- I wonder what that means.
- It doesn’t make any sense at all.
- I don't get it.
Being given a bag of rocks for a present
In-negative / Confusion url
Taking a test without having studied
- It doesn’t ring a bell, it doesn’t sound familiar.
- What am I going to do now?
- I feel I don’t have much of choice.
- I’ve got to go through with it, and I’m hoping for the best.
- I hope I recognize some of the things I’m presented with.
- What should I do?
- What I am doing this for?
Taking a test without having studied
In-negative / Confusion url
Trying to understand current events
- Can you help me figure out what’s going on?
- I don’t know who to believe anymore.
- Frankly, none of this make sense.
- I’m totally baffled.
- I don’t have a clue about what is going on.
- I’m totally dumbfounded.
- It puzzles me.
- I don’t know what to make of it.
- What do you make of it?
- What does it all mean?
- How has it come to this?
Trying to understand current events
In-neutral / Caution url
Thinking of dating someone from the wrong side of the tracks
- I feel that persion might be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
- Assumptions can be deceptive.
- I don’t know where this is all heading.
- If you ask me I think I should just call the whole thing off.
- I think that could be like opening up a Pandora’s box.
- That might be wishful thinking.
- Curiosity killed the cat.
- Where there’s smoke there’s fire.
- I have a funny feeling that I should drop it like a hot potato if I know what’s good for me.
- Am I seeing the world with rose colored glasses?
Thinking of dating someone from the wrong side of the tracks
In-negative / Desperation url
An addict
- Why is this so hard?
- I’m at the end of my rope.
- Things seem to be falling apart.
- I need it bad.
- What’s the use?
- I have nothing to live for.
- I’m grasping at straws.
- I have nowhere to turn to.
- There’s nothing to live for.
- I feel like I’m like beating my head against a brick wall.
- I’ve got a dark cloud hanging over me.
- For the longest time it’s just been one thing after another.
- I just can’t bring myself to change for the better.
- I don’t think I’m going to make it.
- I just can’t go on like this.
- Some days it doesn’t pay to get up in the morning.
- Sometimes I feel that I’m damned if I do, and damned if I don’t.
- I’m getting nowhere fast.
- It’s no use.
- I feel sick like a dog.
- I appreciate your advice, but that's all easier said that done.
An addict
In-negative / Confusion url
Being a victim of a robbery
- I haven’t the faintest idea what happened.
- OK, now what do I do?
- I don’t know what to say.
- It’s hard to believe.
- I feel totally disoriented.
- I'm shell-shocked.
- What happened is weird, and can’t be explained so easily.
- This really messed up my schedule, but I’ll do what I can to get back to a semblance of normalcy.
- What was that all about?
- Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.
- How did that happen?
Being a victim of a robbery
In-negative / Doubt url
Someone saying he’s going on a new starvation diet
- It’s too high a price to pay.
- What gave you that idea?
- I just can’t picture it.
- You can’t believe everything you read.
- Boy, do you bounce from one extreme to another.
- I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re wasting your time.
- I’m sure you will, but I don’t give it much of a chance of success.
- The odds are against it.
- Where have I heard all of this before?
- I hope you know what you’re doing.
- You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt.
Someone saying he’s going on a new starvation diet
Out-neutral / Advice url
Stronger-2
- Play it to the hilt.
- Stick to your guns.
- You have to stand on your own two feet.
- Give it your all.
- Don’t be such a wimp.
- Hang tight.
- No pain no gain.
- You’re on your own.
- Don’t underestimate yourself.
- Give it you’re best.
- Show what you are made of.
- Try your best to keep in mind the basic rules of success.
- See it through to the end.
- Success breeds success.
Stronger-2
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
You’re not negotiating well-3
- That’s a low blow.
- I have to watch you like a hawk.
- I feel like I’m being rail-roaded into it.
- Who are you trying to kid?
- I don’t trust you any more than I can throw you.
- Now you’re showing your true colors.
- Don’t point the finger at me.
- I’ll give you one more chance.
- Why open up old wounds?
- I know how you operate.
- Where do you come from saying something like that to me?
- Wait just one cotton pickin’ minute.
- That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.
- I suspect that you might have an ace up your sleeve.
You’re not negotiating well-3
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 / Desperation url
Being charge with tax evasion
- I’m up the creek without a paddle.
- I never thought it would come to this.
- I’ve reached the end of my rope.
- I’ve become a laughing stock.
- I’ve been crazy with worry.
- My back is up against the wall.
- What have I gotten myself into?
- I suspect that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
- I feel like I’m fraying around the edges.
- I feel like I’ve been through the mill.
- What have I gotten myself into?
Being charge with tax evasion
Out-neutral / Negotiating url
We don’t agree
- Let’s call the whole thing off.
- We don’t see things eye to eye.
- Let’s just drop the whole thing.
- This is not going anywhere.
- It takes two to tangle.
- We don’t seem to be getting anywhere.
- My patience has worn thin.
- Just you wait and see.
- We’re just wasting our time.
- This is an exercise in futility.
- I’m not going to waste any more time talking to you about this.
- We come from two completely different worlds.
- I’ll pass on the offer, and take a rain check.
- I’m not sure if we’re seeing eye to eye about this.
- We’re talking at cross purposes.
- This is highway robbery!
We don’t agree