I think investors were put off by Obama's warnings of "trillion-dollar deficits for years to come."

Here, clarity is king, "free and frank" discussions are the way to proceed, here we not only call a spade a spade, but we pick it up and decapitate our inept enemies with it. True, plenty of people find that offputting, alarming, disturbing even. Luckily those people can put the mouse down, and step away from the keyboard.

There is nothing more irritating and off-putting than some expert airily declaring that it's all very simple really, when it self-evidently isn't.

"He was always put upon," she says. "He was always kind of the patsy. He didn't tell jokes -- he was the butt of the joke."

Why do we put off until tomorrow what we can do today?

We assume it's the economy -- people are putting off the procedures they can put off.

Consumers feel put-upon. They feel downright suckered by their government, their financial institutions, their employers and their unions. Consumers are fed up, and they're just not going to buy it any longer.

"We have put off putting the prices up for 22 months. We announced in September we were holding off putting prices up because of the credit crunch to help our customers, but unfortunately we are now in a position where we need to put the fares up."

The sheer volume of traffic was off-putting at first, but as our stay progressed it became clear that Jersey also has some of the most laid-back drivers I have come across. Although the roads were busy, not a single horn was sounded in anger.

It should greatly entertain girls 8 to 16. Many parents will wince at the movie's over-the-top stereotype of female lust for things and appearances. Even more off-putting is the implication that women alone are guilty of this, while boyfriends and husbands roll their eyes in loving tolerance.

The plot has the rigid predictability of a wedding march; and while it's funny to hear one of the girls' bachelorette guests desperately yelping, "I'm gonna do a quick head-count of the ... [ Read More (0.5k in body) ]