Whilst recognising the worth of what the Receiver is offering, this Bearer must nevertheless – regretfully or otherwise – decline. Appropriate in response to overtures like
Drink?,
By way of introduction and
Kiss me, you fool! as well as
I'll do anything or
Can I help?.
Thanks, but no thanks is frequently useful to Bearers wishing to beat a tactful retreat. Responses can, accordingly, be somewhat negative: a comparatively mild
Let's pretend that never happened proposes mutual denial;
Go and die in a hole or
How could you? make resentment at the Bearer’s rejection abundantly clear; while
You've gotta be kidding me expresses outright disbelief,
Awkward awkwardness, and
Whatever or
My heart bleeds variously cutting dismissals. More positively, however,
No regrets,
Worth a shot and
Anything once indicate the Receiver still doesn’t regret their offer to the Bearer, whatever it may have been, and
Fair enough acknowledges the legitimacy of their reasoning. Should the overture have been romantic,
Let's be friends constitutes a civilised suggestion of ongoing friendship, while
I'll do anything asserts the willingness to perform whatever is necessary to persuade the Bearer to reconsider:
Despair expresses disappointment at such disheartening news.