I'm wondering, did they go grab the girls and take them aside in fifth grade and teach them a slightly different version of the definition "never"?
When I learned about the use of that word, it meant without exception. You either use it when there is absolutely no exceptions, or you preface it with an exhaustive list of "except for."
If not, how do you explain the "you never ______" phrase so many women will use? What they mean is that "I'm frustrated and resentful that you're not doing _____ more often." Instead of saying that, they'll use the "you never _____" sentence and it completely derails the conversation. Why? Because it's usually not true. The conversation goes from what is frustrating her to how she's making false, negative statements about me.
It used to really piss me off. After all, I took it as minimizing what I did and exaggerating her case to paint me in a bad light. I don't get pissed off anymore, but I sure do call my wife on it. It took a while to get through to her that the major hangup was those specific words, and that she is being rather inexact when she uses them.
When I learned about the use of that word, it meant without exception. You either use it when there is absolutely no exceptions, or you preface it with an exhaustive list of "except for."
If not, how do you explain the "you never ______" phrase so many women will use? What they mean is that "I'm frustrated and resentful that you're not doing _____ more often." Instead of saying that, they'll use the "you never _____" sentence and it completely derails the conversation. Why? Because it's usually not true. The conversation goes from what is frustrating her to how she's making false, negative statements about me.
It used to really piss me off. After all, I took it as minimizing what I did and exaggerating her case to paint me in a bad light. I don't get pissed off anymore, but I sure do call my wife on it. It took a while to get through to her that the major hangup was those specific words, and that she is being rather inexact when she uses them.
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