midnight
What does it mean "not my proudest moment"? "I drank a bottle of tequila last night, became ballistic and punched my best friend. Not my proudest moment..." what does it mean "not my proudest moment" in this context? thanks in advance!
Jan 12, 2015 7:37 PM
Answers · 2
1
It's an indirect way of saying "it was extremely embarrassing". Ric's right, we use these "negating-the-opposite" phrases as an understatement, and we do it quite often. Usually it's the negative of a positive word, and in some cases it can be used as "soft" or "indirect" criticism. For example, "That wasn't a very intelligent thing to say." = "That was an utterly stupid thing to say."
January 12, 2015
It means I did not feel proud, or, I felt ashamed of my behaviour. English often uses this kind of understatement: I wasn't very pleased (=I was angry) The film wasn't bad at all, actually (=I enjoyed it)
January 12, 2015
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