Question:“On saying the wrong thing”
On saying the wrong thing
A slip of the tongue is the tongue leaving before the heart. The tongue is fast and the heart is slow, so the mending must be done at the heart’s speed.
Do not explain the slip a hundred times. Correct it once: “What I said earlier was wrong. This is what I meant.” Then do not repeat it. Repeating is not apology. It makes the other person hear the mistake again.
One of the maxims of Delphi was to hold the tongue. It was carved in stone because everyone who came to the temple let the tongue go first.