There’s something about the word inappropriate that gets to me. That and its near relation appropriate. They really do cover a multitude of sins. “I would like to apologise for my inappropriate behaviour at the ambassador’s dinner. I recognise that what I did could not in any way be considered to be appropriate.” Roughly translated that means “I’m sorry I drank enough to sink an aircraft carrier and then groped any woman in arm’s reach. I realise that I am lucky not to find myself in a cell facing charges for a serious sexual offence.”
Instead we use appropriate/inappropriate. While I suppose that is quicker than my rather long-winded translation, the words lack detail. Someone whose behaviour is described as inappropriate could be a sexual predator, violent psycho or raving nutter who likes to sing a version of the Sex Pistol’s God Save The Queen during the committal at a funeral.
Anyway, what brought this on was watching a TV programme which was a sort of rude grandson of Candid Camera. In this instance the clip showed a young TV presenter interviewing people in Hollywood, but instead of a microphone she had a flesh-coloured dildo with all veins up it (as they say). While interviewing a young film starlet, one of the said starlet’s assistants pushed the “microphone” away and said: “That is not appropriate” - no, but it was quite funny.
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