To hate the expression; ''I'm not being funny but....''

[poshsinglemum]

Normally said when the person is being funny as in bitchy. A real filler.

I'm not being funny but you are not being unreasonable.

i am being funny and you are being unreasonable

Absolutely NBU. I moved to Britain a few years ago and at first could not work out what on earth people meant by this. It annoys me tremendously.
To be honest, I still can't work out what people mean by it - no, actually, you are not being funny.

It's idiosyncratic English and only works if you understand that in English funny can be either funny/peculiar or funny/haha. I must admit it's an expression I probably use a lot but I would never use with people who weren't native English speakers.

I also hate, "I have to say..." Do you? Dou you really?

YANBU. It's always a precursor for saying something offensive or in poor taste. @leptin 'funny' in this context means 'offhand/rude' rather than 'ha-ha' or 'peculiar'. Rather like starting a sentence... 'No offence, but....' 'Don't take this the wrong way, but....' 'You're not going to like this, but...' It's meant to prepare the recipient for what comes next and get the speaker off the hook at the same time.

"I'm not being funny, but..... that hair-style puts years on her".

YANBU I hate it..

I also hate 'I don't mean to be rude but...' followed by something rude and 'I don't like to gossip but...' followed by some gossip!

Oh I agree, it's like

I'm about to be incredibly bitchy and snide but you're not allowed to react to this comment as though it were bitchy and snide.

YADNBU
I was brokenhearted when a girl at school told me 'I'm not being funny but your legs are really fat at the top aren't they?' I was fourteen and flirting with anorexia at the time - just skipping breakfast and lunch but eating dinner so that my mum wouldn't notice. It added to my complex and I'm only just making peace with my body now, although thankfully I never tipped over into full-blown anorexia. People use it as an excuse to say completely horrible things. They should just say "I'm am a total bitch, and..." instead.

YANBU

I hate "no offence" too. DH's DD (12) says it all the time, she doesn't really understand what it means, it's just a habit bless her, but it's quite annoying!

YANBU - my MIL uses it when she thinks I am being unreasonable - ie

ME: I had a lovely time at the gym
HER: I am not being funny but do you think its a good idea when you are 9 months pregnant. etc

Or "I'm not being racist but..." Then something incredibly racist.

Almost as good as 'I don't want to say this/tell you...' SO DON'T THEN!!!

it's not as bad as the phrase

'bear with me for a moment'

which essentially means

'shut the fuck up, I'm talking'

I have a colleague who says this all the time. And another who adds "Do you know what I mean?" to the end of every statement.

I'm not being funny but the pair of them drive me crazy. Do you know what I mean?

Arrgh, YANBU!

Also:

"to be honest with you..." - as opposed to your usual lies?

I don't like but to gossip, but....

YADNBU. My opinion of a person drastically falls if I hear them saying ''I'm not being funny''.

Other pet hates include:

''At the end of the day''

''I love her to bits, BUT''

''I'm not being racist, BUT''

YANBU

I hate this phrase with a passion

(have you noticed it is often used by people who say 'myself' instead of 'me', etc. - another one that I particularly dislike)

Declarations of intent or motivation that you have to supplement with a 'but' should be rethought.

yanbu OP.
A recent one I heard: 'I'm not being funny but I'm not going to sign the congratulations card for the woman who's just had a baby because other people have had babies and not had cards.'
that was deffo funny as in peculiar I thought!

yanbu. It is hideous.

Not because of the bitchiness bit, just because I don't like how it sounds.

I'm not being funny but a horse walked into the bar; the barman asked, "Why the long face?"

And that is the only time it should be used.

"to be fair......."

I actually think that horse joke is brilliant

and I'm not being funny.

It's so Les Dawson, hoist your bosom up, cowardly and curtain twitchy. People who are mean spirited enough to criticise every small thing, but not brave enough to stand by their opinions. It is seen as carte blanche to be as petty minded as one likes, with no comeback.

I am not a fan.