The explanation given to me by a student as to why his classmate always scored better marks in class tests was: “Well, he has a way”. Some time ago I saw a film where a guy says to a shop owner: “Nice shop you have here! It’d be a pity if something happened to it”. The veiled threat is clear to anyone. Later in the film a guy in a car is stopped by the police for jumping a red light. The driver climbs out the car and while searching for his wallet to get his driving license says: “Maybe we could settle this right now”. Again, the veiled meaning is clear. If the driver had offered money to go away freely, he might have been lucky if the policeman was dishonest, but very unlucky if honest, because in this case besides the driving offence he would have been accused of attempted bribery. By saying what he said the first option was still possible and if the policeman was honest, at most he would have paid the fine but he could not have been accused of attempted bribery. Language is not just a means to pass on info or explain difficult physics or maths problems. It also helps manage our relationships. When we say: “Would you be so kind as to pass me the water? Oh Great!”, clearly we are not interested in knowing just how kind the other guy is, nor do we think he is a hero for passing the water. All we want is the water without appearing bossy as that might complicate the relationship. The boss who would like to sell an apartment to one of his employees, the boy who wants to take the relationship with a girl beyond friendship, the lawyer who would like to take his client out to dinner. It is useful to speak clearly, but even more useful is the art of not speaking clearly. Clear? “Well he has a way” might be the truth or a way to mask the fact that he does not study as much as his friend does.