It’s A Shame!

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The first time someone used this phrase with me, I wasn’t sure what she meant. In Nigeria, people say “it’s a shame” when they imply that someone has done something shameful or disgraceful. 

But in England, it’s not exactly so. 

So one day I was unable to make an appointment because I wasn’t feeling well enough, and when I called to inform my British colleague of this disappointment, she replied “Oh dear, it’s a shame”, and I’m like “Shame? Shame on who”?

I wasn’t exactly sure how to react, but it absolutely didn’t go down well with me because of my preexisting understanding of the phrase.

On more than one occasion, I was on a chat with someone and I expressed my disappointment about the rain which has disrupted my plans for the day, and the response from this person was “It’s a shame”.

This got me a bit confused. Why am I being “shamed” for all of these? 🤷‍♀️ 

I was too embarrassed to ask anyone what they meant by the phrase. So I had to ask google, and I found the answer. 😊

People from around here - The UK - use this phrase to mean: “It’s a pity”. Or as a way of saying “That’s a sad situation”. Etc,.

Now I’ve gotten acquainted with this, and I no longer feel embarrassed when someone says “it’s a shame”. 😊

***** *****

I learned that during summer the UK gets sunny and really warm & nice, and I anticipated it, but to my disappointment, it’s been RAIN RAIN RAIN...! What kind of summer is this? IT'S A SHAME!!! 😞 


PS: You’ll be seeing this phrase quite often in my writings, I hope you understand what I mean.

Have you also misconstrued a word or phrase? Share your experience in the comments! 😊

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