What HN users don't mean to be
It's an old rule that whenever someone says "I'm not racist, but", they are practically <i>always</i> about to say something incredibly racist.  I think this can be generalized to all forms of "I'm not X, but" or, "I don't mean to be X, but", and so forth.  "No offense, but, <offensive thing>" seems to also be a common variation.<p>Is there a word for this kind of linguistic construct?<p>( Possibly related: <a href="http://www.notracistbut.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.notracistbut.com/</a> )