IstominFan wrote:
kraftiekortie,
One question I loathe is, "By any chance, can you/do you have...?" It implies to me that I'm too stupid to get somebody's request right. As harsh as a direct order may sound to some, I actually prefer it to the manipulative phrases and questions some people use.
What are you talking about?
If someone says something like "I don't suppose you would have an X on your person that you could lend me for a moment?" what they are saying is "I realized that is highly unlikely that you would be carrying around an X with you at all times, BUT if you happened to have an X could you let me barrow it for a second?". They are apologizing to you for making an odd request.
It doesn't have anything to do with implying that you don't "understand" the request.
In fact if a person thought you were "understanding impaired" they would do the opposite, and would be blunt and to the point and simply bark the order at you instead of constructing a complicated sentence.