Phrases that announce ‘I’m lying‘

A very interesting post in the Boston Globe this week, about phrases we use in everyday conversation that operate contrary to their face value. Here are the opening three paragraphs of the article, followed by the link below.

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but there’s a whole range of phrases that aren’t doing the jobs you think they’re doing.

In fact, “I hate to be the one to tell you this” (like its cousin, “I hate to say it”) is one of them. Think back: How many times have you seen barely suppressed glee in someone who — ostensibly — couldn’t be more reluctant to be the bearer of bad news? A lack of respect from someone who starts off “With all due respect”? A stunning dearth of comprehension from someone who prefaces their cluelessness with “I hear what you’re saying”? And has “I’m not a racist, but...” ever introduced an unbiased statement?

These contrary-to-fact phrases have been dubbed (by the Twitter user GrammarHulk and others) “but-heads,” because they’re at the head of the sentence, and usually followed by but. They’ve also been dubbed “false fronts,” “wishwashers,” and, less cutely, “lying qualifiers.”

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/11/14/i_hate_to_tell_you/

Read the whole thing. Which of these phrases do you use most often?