Whenever a conversant uses an extremely effective phrasing that conveys to me “I’m asking about/referring to X, and would only like you to think about X when answering/replying, because I am certainly not, in any way, referring to Y, Z, and D,” it stands out to me and I’ll (often ask for permission to) adopt that phrasing.
I think it would be an added bonus of a curiosity signal to have this trait.
Most prominent example: a friend used, “If I may,” in an e-mail, which I requested to “make my own”—they allowed it, informing me they themselves had recently lifted the phrasing from someone. \ Full formation: “[I]f [I] may, [I] suggest...”
Whenever a conversant uses an extremely effective phrasing that conveys to me “I’m asking about/referring to X, and would only like you to think about X when answering/replying, because I am certainly not, in any way, referring to Y, Z, and D,” it stands out to me and I’ll (often ask for permission to) adopt that phrasing.
I think it would be an added bonus of a curiosity signal to have this trait.
Most prominent example: a friend used, “If I may,” in an e-mail, which I requested to “make my own”—they allowed it, informing me they themselves had recently lifted the phrasing from someone.
\ Full formation: “[I]f [I] may, [I] suggest...”