Mr. Manners

Here’s a list of phrases to remove from conversations in 2023:

1.       “That’s a cute picture!” No. Your use of this phrase could be interpreted as “That person’s not cute in real life, but that’s a cute picture”. A better phrase would be, “She’s really cute!”

2.       “Here’s what I think he’s trying to say.” Huh-uh. Sounds arrogant. Let the person speak for themself.*

3.       “You’re thinking of…” Never use this phrase. It comes across as arrogant. A better phrase would be to ask, “Are you perhaps thing of…?”

4.       “I read Harry’s book.”**

*An exception of #2 would be pets. Some people have that innate ability to listen to pets. 

** Exceptions to #4 would be Harry Potter and Harry S. Truman. Not sure if Dirty Harry was ever a book.