Sorry!

[TWR]

What is your definition of the word? Just bumped into someone " Sorry" Someone has just Died "sorry" do we use the word in the wrong context?

[emmie]

it's a one size, fix all,
why do we say sorry when someone barges into you, or sorry when the phone rings and it's a wrong number.

[starone]

It just means you regret something that has happened to a greater or lesser degree.

[Bambiagain]

There is a fascinating book called "Watching the English" by Dr Kate Fox in which she explores the way the English use the word. I met my German OH in England and he was amused by the way we apologise for everything. When he came back to Germany, his friends remarked that he was apologising too much. I don'T say that it is always inappropriate, but we certainly use the word to cover a wide variety of situations that maybe devalue it when it is really needed.

[askyourgran]

Some sorrys are more heartfelt than others. Depending on the circumstance. My apologies sounds too long and stuck up to me.

[Prudie]

If I bump into someone my mouth says sorry without the brain involved. If someone has died it's not just 'sorry' but I'm so sorry or really sorry or something with feeling added.

[Tilly2]

'Sorry is the hardest word'? Obviously not, if we use it all the time.

[quinie]

What else could you say when you bump into someone?

[Bambiagain]

Excuse me?

[Tilly2]

Actually, I think it's 'Sorry seems to be the hardest word'

[maggiebee]

"Get out of my way you stupid git" springs to mind Quinie.

[mike11111]

Sorry is derived from sorrow, expressing regret or sadness, so to that extent it is appropriate in a wide ranges of instances, ranging from the trivial to the very grave.

[mike11111]

On a similar tack, the phrase "I beg your pardon" seems to have largely died out except in the ironic sense.

[mazie]

I agree mike. I can't remember the last time I said that..Then again begging is a bit last year

[DTCwordfan]

Sorry, what did you say, TWR?

Oh, sorry, someone's died - that's a sorry state of affairs.

Yes as to context. Sorry IMHO.

[shoota]

The French use 'pardon'. (Pah-don)

[Bambiagain]

The Germans would say "entschuldigung" if they bump into you (well, they might if they are polite enough) and "es tut mir Leid" when something bad has happened. "Es tut mir sehr Leid" would be appropriate for a death or something really bad (sehr meaning very).

[DTCwordfan]

In the USA, it is a simple "Bang"

[mike11111]

The French only use Pardon when asking for something to be repeated. Otherwise it's Je m'excuse or désolé, depending on context.

[shoota]

Sorry Mike, beg to differ, every time I walk round Super-U its 'pardon' after 'pardon' for the most minor of obstructions.