Examples Non-apology apology

1 examples

1.1 mistakes made
1.2 if apology
1.3 other versions
1.4 sarcastic examples

examples
mistakes made

the expression mistakes made commonly used rhetorical device, whereby speaker acknowledges situation handled poorly or inappropriately seeks evade direct admission or accusation of responsibility using passive voice. acknowledgement of mistakes framed in abstract sense no direct reference made mistakes. active voice construction along lines of made mistakes or john doe made mistakes. speaker neither accepts personal responsibility nor accuses else. word mistakes not imply intent.

the new york times has called phrase classic washington linguistic construct . political consultant william schneider suggested usage referred past exonerative tense, , commentator william safire has defined phrase [a] passive-evasive way of acknowledging error while distancing speaker responsibility . commentator @ npr declared expression king of non-apologies . while perhaps famous in politics, phrase has been used in business, sports, , entertainment.

the if apology

attorney , business ethics expert lauren bloom, author of art of apology, mentions if apology favorite of politicians, lines such apologize if offended . comedian harry shearer has coined term ifpology frequent appearances on apologies of week segment of le show.

one of first references in new york times richard mooney in 1992 editorial notebook if sounds slippery ... how apologize , admit nothing . in regard senator bob packwood: in event should choose take offense, why s sorry . mooney goes on cite bill clinton, said of mario cuomo: if remarks on tape left impression disrespectful either governor cuomo or italian-americans, regret it. famous example involved racially insensitive remarks made golfer fuzzy zoeller tiger woods; zoeller s comments , half-hearted if apology news days , resulted in zoeller s being dropped commercial tie-in k-mart. according john kador in effective apology, adding word if or other conditional modifier apology makes non-apology.

a 2014 example of if apology cnn s don lemon said, if question struck offensive, sorry, not intention. in reference interview joan tarshis suggested biting penis way avoid being orally sexually assaulted.

on september 16, 2015, matt damon made salon termed non-apology apology when stated, sorry [his comments] offended people, but, @ least, happy started conversation diversity in hollywood. in reference backlash against damon after made comments diversity african american film producer effie brown on september 13, 2015 debut of hbo show project greenlight criticized condescending.

other versions

on july 24, 1991, new york times stated australian foreign minister gareth evans had offered prime minister of malaysia might best described non-apology apology malaysian government regarded insulting portrayal of malaysia in australian television series, embassy. speaking journalists, mr evans said had wanted acknowledge fault such acknowledgment appropriate .

sarcastic examples

humorist bruce mccall, in 2001 new york times piece entitled perfect non-apology apology , defined term referring sufficiently artful double talk designed enable 1 want seeming express regret while accepting no blame, , suggested tongue-in-cheek apologies, such as:

nobody sorrier me police officer had spend valuable time writing out parking ticket on car. though personal standpoint know certainty meter had not yet expired, please accept expression of deep regret @ unfortunate incident.