Talk:excuse me

Excuse me?

Isn't "excuse me?" used as an expression or interjection of surprise? Rubykuby (talk) 17:48, 1 March 2012 (UTC)

Traditionally it's an apology (e.g. when you've bumped into somebody, or need to interrupt their conversation) but there is another sense we are missing. You can actually say "Excuse me!" in outrage, if someone else does something you consider very rude. Equinox ◑ 12:36, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

Oh, and you're right, it can also mean "I beg your pardon?" / "What did you say?" (in disbelief or surprise). Equinox ◑ 12:37, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

 Done Got both now. Equinox ◑ 00:40, 15 May 2016 (UTC)

RFD discussion: September 2016–May 2017

The following discussion has been moved from Wiktionary:Requests for deletion (permalink).

This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.

---

excuse me

Rfd-sense Said as a request for an apology. I think this was intended to cover the use as a response to an insult. If that is the case, then this is a misinterpretation of this usage. It is really sense #1 (Said as a request to repeat information.), sort of like "What did you just say?". If I am wrong about what this sense was meant to cover, then I will RFV it instead. --WikiTiki89 02:08, 25 September 2016 (UTC)

Isn't it sometimes said huffily to someone who has barged into you? Equinox ◑ 10:40, 25 September 2016 (UTC)

Hmmm. That seems to me like a more sarcastic/figurative usage of what I described above, but I'll have to think about it some more. --WikiTiki89 14:23, 25 September 2016 (UTC)

I agree that the "You're an idiot!" / "Excuse me?" usage is a special case of "Said as a request to repeat information", but it may be special enough to deserve its own entry (or at least a separate usage example). There is another possible use, "Excuse me!" (exclamation mark not question mark, emphasis on "me"), which expresses the speaker's outrage, I suppose possibly implying a demand for an apology. Usage examples would be very valuable in this entry. Mihia (talk) 20:21, 28 September 2016 (UTC)

Well, I feel that we need to put intonations or at least punctuations (?!) on each sense, cuz they really don't sound the same. -- SzMithrandir (talk) 07:49, 26 December 2016 (UTC)

No consensus to delete. Some adjustment of the entry may be needed to reflect specific pronunciation elements for the different meanings. bd2412 T 15:37, 14 May 2017 (UTC)

Sorry, as an apology vs Said as a request for an apology.

what's the difference between the meanings Sorry, as an apology and Said as a request for an apology? --Backinstadiums (talk) 12:41, 28 October 2019 (UTC)