Replies for when you don’t know what someone just said

By Frankie Hart, October 7 2019 —

“Pardon?”:

Perhaps the most milquetoast option, asking your conversational partner to repeat themselves is sometimes just necessary. But what happens if they repeat themselves and you still don’t understand what they just said? Then it’s time, my friend, to consider alternative options.

“Huh”:

Sometimes, people talk just to be acknowledged. Making this simple sound in response will convey that you recognize that they have said something. And maybe that’s all they needed.

“Could you run that by me again?”:

This is simply an alternative of “pardon,” and is a nice phrase to mix it up if you find yourself requesting that your companion repeat themselves multiple times. If you see them becoming visibly frustrated, it might just be better to casually change the topic. Current events are usually a good go-to, or you could bring up not-so-current events that just happen to haunt you at this present moment. Hey, that whole Epstein thing was pretty wild, huh?

“Wow. Really makes you think”:

This is a one-size-fits-all type of phrase. They’re making a fourth season of Stranger Things? Wow, really makes you think. You’re starting a keto diet? Wow. Makes you think. Wait — who was on Epstein’s plane? Wow. That really does have me thinkin’.

“That reminds me of an interesting detail about Jeffrey Epstein”:

The beautiful thing about this line is that you won’t have to worry about not understanding the person you’re talking to in the future, since they won’t want to talk to you ever again.

“Cool. Did you know that Stephen Hawking visited Epstein’s island, Little Saint James?”:

This one’s the kicker. If the person you are talking to endures your complete disregard of what they were talking about in favour of discussing the details of the life and mysterious death of alleged billionaire-pedophile-ring host Jeffrey Epstein, perhaps they are more than just a conversational partner. You have found a friend.

This article is part of our humour section.