Does anyone else get irritated by this? When someone says "No offence" before or after coming out with a massive rant that is incredibly offensive. Do they think it magically removes offence from anything that is said? I'm not trying to ban offending people or anything. Honestly, offending people who hate me can be quite satisfying. But if you're trying not to offend, but feel the need to tell people not to be offended, perhaps you should rethink what you're saying.
Haha I think usually people just mean it as an expression. I'm sure I'm guilty of saying it from time to time (not that I say anything incredibly offensive but still)... But yeah I totally get where you're coming from. It is a bit of a redundant phrase when people just use it as an excuse to be obviously offensive.
It's meant to soften the blow, like "With all due respect..." or "I'm just sayin'..." I think it's highly contextual, though, since I've used it both when wanting to have the other person listen when there's no easy way to put it, and at other times, just to seem less crass, even if my message totally is! I think it is overused, personally. I usually don't apologize until after what's said is said and the other has personally expressed offense.
I think if you really mean that you don't wish to offend anyone and then write very offensive things, people should tell you nicely that it is offensive. If you don't mean it, you're just an idiot who has no respect for other people.
Sometimes people use it to explain something that's necessary. "No offence, but you really need to change your habit" Others might say "No offfence, but you're an idiot and have no friends" which is just a way to make someone angry then act like the victim.
Hahaha. It reminds me of a southern staple of "bless his/her heart." As in, "He's as dumb as a bag of rocks, bless his heart." It's fun to use, but I never do it in person. I try to be as non-offensive as possible by reading my audience and try to be as nice as I can.
