In-negative / Explaining url
Coming late for an appointment
- I just plum forgot.
- It slipped my mind.
- Forgive me, I just didn’t remember.
- I didn’t do it on purpose.
- I hope you understand.
- Please don’t take it personally.
- I knew I forgot something.
- I’ve been burning the candle at both ends.
- I’ve been crazy busy lately.
- I have a lot on my plate.
- The time just slipped through my fingers.
- I just have no sense of time.
Coming late for an appointment
Out-positive / Agreement url
Instead of throwing out plastic bottles, I think we should recycle them.
- That really hits the nail on the head.
- I hear you as clear as a bell.
- That’s exactly what I think.
- Good idea.
- I can’t argue with you.
- I must admit that I see your point.
- You’re absolutely right.
- That’s true.
- That's not a bad idea.
- I couldn’t agree with you more.
- That sounds like a plan.
Instead of throwing out plastic bottles, I think we should recycle them.
Out-positive / Friendship url
Asking for a favor
- Can I ask you for a huge favor?
- Can you give me a hand?
- I could use your help with something I’m doing.
- Do you have any free time to give me some help?
- I’m confused about something, and I’d appreciate it if you could help clear things up.
- I'm so glad I reached you, because you’re a hard person to get a hold of.
- Just tell me one thing.
- Can I have a word with you?
- Could you spare a minute?
Asking for a favor
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
Out-positive / Friendship url
Happy for you
- I’m glad to hear it.
- I’m so happy for you.
- I’m really happy to hear it.
- Isn’t that nice.
- That’s wonderful news!
- Your bringing me up to date really makes my day.
Happy for you
In-positive / Surprise url
Finding something after searching for it
- I looked all over the place for it, but all the time it was right under my nose.
- It seemed to disappear into thin air.
- I looked for it in the same place a hundred times, and it was right in front of eyes the whole time.
- It appeared out of thin air.
- It seemed to vanish off the face of the earth.
- I can’t believe I finally found it!
- Don’t that beat all?
Finding something after searching for it
In-positive / Confidence url
Suggesting a new sales strategy at work
- You bet your bottom dollar.
- I’m going to hit it out of the ballpark.
- I know what’s at stake.
- You can count on it.
- The sky’s the limit.
- There’s plenty more where that came from.
- It’s working like a charm.
- There’s no question about it.
- It’s going to knock your socks off.
- Take it from me.
- With any luck at all we’ll be able to get to the next level.
- I’m going to knock it out of the park.
- When you look at my plan you'll see that it all adds up.
- I knew it right off the bat.
- I’m firing on all cylinders.
- Things are really starting to click.
Suggesting a new sales strategy at work
In-positive / Surprise url
You win the lottery
- The experience was so strange that I felt I was entering into never-never land.
- You could have knocked me over with a feather.
- Oh my gosh!
- It happened just outta the blue.
- It really blew my mind.
- Can you believe it?
- Boy, I’m telling you.
- One thing happened after another, and suddenly I found myself in a position that was totally unexpected.
You win the lottery
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
Out-positive / Agreement url
There’s nothing like a good, brisk walk.
- That very well may be true.
- I won’t argue with you.
- You hit it on the head.
- It really hits the spot.
- You’ve got a good point.
- I’ll grant you that.
- I can verify what you’re saying from personal experience.
- It make’s good sense.
- That’s understandable.
There’s nothing like a good, brisk walk.
In-positive / Remembering url
Meeting a friend from childhood
- Those were the good old days.
- Just for old time’s sake.
- There’s been a lot of water under the bridge since we saw each other last.
- It’s been a long time.
- I feel just like I was a little kid again.
- We go back a long way.
- From time to time I remember the good old days, the way things used to be.
- Our friendship goes back for as long as I can remember.
- I remember you from way back when, and you haven’t changed a bit.
Meeting a friend from childhood
Out-positive / Encouragement url
To a High School student who won the science fair
- You’re a real expert.
- That needed out of the box thinking, and you rose to the occasion.
- You should be proud of the fact that you did it all by yourself, with almost no help from anyone else.
- You just scratched the surface of what you can accomplish.
- I guess you’re curious about what makes things tick.
- It’s right up your alley.
To a High School student who won the science fair