Matthew's Journal

If I say 'not bad' in a rising tone, it means I'm rather gosh darned impressed with something, and I'm giving it a thorough nod of approval.

If someone asks me how I am, I nearly always reply 'not bad' in a flat tone. This means I am functioning above the median of my functioning range. (Otherwise I would have said 'not good, of course.)

If you asked me what I thought of a film and I said 'not bad' in a falling tone (probably preceded with 'well'), it would mean it probably wasn't very good at all, but it wasn't the worst thing I'd ever seen (which would probably be 'Rat Race').

What I am now concluding is that the words 'not bad' are utterly irrelevant; it is how they are spoken that matters. I will therefore in future say 'cabbages' instead of 'not bad', while retaining the tonal inflection. That will remove all ambiguity. Thank you for improving the clarity of my speech.