annoying phrases - "more than fair"

[AllIMissNowIsTheSea]

I think that's more than fair...

How can it be more than fair?

If it's more than fair it's unfair to someone, surely...

More than happy - it never means genuinely happy, joyful, blissful does it - it means the opposite, it means I wouldn't be happy at all but I wouldn't say so... grudgingly happy. I'd be more than happy to give up my seat if someone asked me to but I can't read minds and don't know who needs it - no you wouldn't be "more than happy" otherwise you wouldn't have sat down in the first place...

There's something parsimonious about people who use the phrase "more than" as a qualifier in this way.

Any other phrases like this?

More than happy could be exuberant, exulted, overjoyed etc .

I always sort of thought of 'more than fair' as over that which is expected, generous.

It could be iklboo but that is never what people mean. It's one of those inverted sayings that means the opposite - when people say they'd be more than happy to do xyz they never actually mean they'd be exuberant, exulted, overjoyed, joyful or any form of extremely happy, they just mean they wouldn't moan about doing it too much...

Fair means in balance - you can't be more than balanced, because then you'd be out of balance again. As with "more than happy" it also never does really mean generous - it usually means just barely fair.

They're expressions used to apply generosity of emotion when they ineveitably translate as miserlyness of emotion (which may well be spelt incorrectly) is what I'm trying to say.

"I was more than happy to contribute to Sarah's leaving present and thought 27p was more than fair, as she'd been at the company 27 years" might be an example of usuage for the dictionary :o

Ah. I get you now. You know some very annoying people then . Tight-fisted miseries who try to justify themselves. You've obviously met my FIL & BIL2.

:o

Recommend me a ……...!!! I've seen it several times on MN now.

Is this a thing people say now instead of just 'Recommend a ……..???

FIL (bought house & car with cash) gives DS 50p 'for sweets'. He's 15 later this year. I'm not sure you can even buy anything for less than 50p. But it's 'more than plenty' apparently.

He once left 20p tip for a meal bill of over £100 (we paid the bill) that was 'more than fair'. We'd had impeccable service and attention all night. We paid the tip as well because 20p was embarrassing.

People should be 'more than grateful' for anything he parts with as well.