“I don't have time to haggle with someone over the price of a piece of furniture!”

You just moved to a new apartment and need to get a new desk. Your friend suggests that you try to buy a used one through the Internet. You'd rather buy a new one because it's easier. You say:

I don't have time to haggle with someone over the price of a piece of furniture!

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“Don't feel obligated to come if you're too busy.”

You're having a party next weekend. You want to invite one of your friends, who's a very busy person. You don't want to make her feel pressured, so you say:

Don't feel obligated to come if you're too busy.

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“My father was always too absorbed in his work to pay much attention to me.”

You don't get along well with your father. When you were a child, he was a busy executive. You're talking to a therapist about the problems that you have with him. You tell the therapist:

My father was always too absorbed in his work to pay much attention to me.

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“I'm going to make an effort to spend more quality time with my family.”

You and a friend are discussing your New Year's resolutions with each other, a few days after New Year's Day. You always work late hours, and you don't get to see your family very much. This year, you'd like to see them more often. You tell your friend:

I'm going to make an effort to spend more quality time with my family.

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“He just blew me off.”

A coworker just told you that he was too busy to talk to you. You're annoyed, so you complain to a work friend:

He just blew me off.

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“OK, Sorry to bother you.”

You went by your coworker's office to talk with him about a problem you're having, but he said he was too busy to talk to you. You're a little annoyed, but you want to respond politely because you're at work. You say:

OK, Sorry to bother you.

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“Actually, now's not a good time.”

At work, you're working hard to prepare for a presentation that you're giving in less than an hour. A coworker comes by to chat about a problem that she's having with another coworker. You don't have time to talk to her about this, so you say:

Actually, now's not a good time.

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“She got tied up at work.”

Your friend invited you and your wife out to dinner. Your wife couldn't come because she suddenly had something important that she had to do at work. You're explaining why your wife didn't come. You say:

She got tied up at work.

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“Actually it's been kind of slow this week.”

You're talking with someone you know who works in another part of your company. She asks if you've been busy lately. You're not busy, so you say:

Actually it's been kind of slow this week.

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“I was slammed all week.”

You filled in for your coworker while she was out on vacation last week. You had so much work to do while she was gone. She asks how it went, and you answer:

I was slammed all week.

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