Bernard O'Shea: 'I once apologised to a loaf of bread' — Why Irish people apologise to inanimate objects

"Sorry" to a chair, a wall, a doorframe — and once, a loaf of bread. It's politeness taken to Olympic levels.

Bernard O'Shea: "We also heavily rely on what’s called “negative politeness”—basically, a way of communicating that avoids imposing on others. That’s why Irish people say, “Sorry, would you have the time?” instead of just, “What time is it?”

I once apologised to a loaf of bread. In public. In front of witnesses. It fell out of my shopping bag and hit the ground like a doughy little soldier, and I instinctively muttered, “Sorry.” 

To the bread. I didn’t even blink. I just picked it up and moved on, as if apologising to baked goods was the most natural thing in the world.