使用复杂、抽象的英语表达也许是为了使文体更加正式，但有时故意把简单的事情说得复杂可能是“别有目的”。试举英剧《是，首相》当中的一个片段为例——
对话背景: 欧洲深受债务危机之困，各国首脑举行会议商议出路，但会议一直没有实质性进展。首相Jim不仅被媒体指责毫无作为，还被党内同僚觊觎首相之位，乌纱帽朝不保夕。秘书Humphrey私下里与Kumranistan(经查是虚构的国家)外交大臣达成口头协议，Kumranistan大臣表示愿意向欧洲提供十万亿贷款，只要之后欧洲各国向Kumranistan那里购买石油。当Humphrey 告诉Jim这个“好消息”时，Jim非常开心：他相信任何问题都将迎刃而解，甚至开始幻想自己的名字登上报纸头条、载入史册的伟大时刻。然而，Humphrey没有告诉首相，这个协议有个“隐含条件”——贷款必须经过ECB之手，这意味着英国如果不加入欧元区，就根本分不到贷款。当然，英国首相是绝对不会同意英国加入欧元区的，秘书自然也很清楚这一点，所以刻意隐瞒了“隐含条件”。而首相的另一得力助手发现了不对劲，私下里提醒首相可能有“诈”。首相也开始担心被人挖了个“坑”，于是来秘书，质问之。
(PM =Prime Minister; H=Humphrey)
PM: This Kumranistan loan is all good news, isn’t it?
H: Oh, tremendous news!
PM: There are no hidden snags, you know? Terms and conditions? Penalty clauses? Tough guarantees?
H: Oh, no, nothing like that. Standard agreement. its alright
PM: Great! Just an ordinary treasury loan, as far as we’re concerned?
H: In a sense, yes.
PM: In a sense? (frowning)
H: Well, in due course, following agreed procedures, after certain formalities.
PM: But the money goes straight to the Treasury (国库)?
H: Yes, it goes to the Treasure, of course.
PM: STRAIGHT to the Treasury?
H: Well, broadly speaking, yes. More or less.
PM: Broadly speaking? How would you describe it if you were narrowly speaking?
Does it have to go through the European Central Bank?
H: Prime Minister, we get the money, that is what matters.
PM: Let me put this another way—will this loan be in euros?
H: Prime Minister, I do urge you not to clutter your mind with procedural detail and monetary trivia.
PM: Humphrey! In words of one syllable, is this plan dependent on our abandoning sterling (英国货币) and joining the euro?
H: Well, “dependent” has three syllables, and “a-ban-don-ing” has four. (Fake-smiling “HA HA”)
…
PM: Humphrey! Answer my question!
H: Alright, Prime Minister. You’ve asked a straight question, and I’ll give you a straight answer, which, however, clearly depends on its context. In the course of all financial negotiations, certain provisos have to be pre-cogitated and preconditioned; various caveats have to be postulated, designated, investigated and specified, and a number of considerations have to be unequivocally determined, acknowledged, and indeed, sometimes even conceded, so that we can facilitate the finalization of preliminary plans to create an epistemological basis for all parties to proceed towards a mutually beneficial consummation, which will acknowledge and safeguard the vital interests of all the participants without jeopardizing in any material way the underlying collective benefits, ultimately accruing to the signatories, or leaving unresolved any anomalies or irregularities which could precipitate operational uncertainty down the line, so that there will be a presumed modicum of iron-clad reciprocity, which, in the great scheme of things, will be to everyone’s advantage.
(Applause from )
PM: Did that mean yes or no?
H: Don’t you think that yes and no are rather broad and unspecific in their application?
PM: No!
I want a clear, unambiguous answer!
H: Certainly. What was the question again?
PM: Is joining the euro a condition of getting the loan?
H: Well, in the sense that, if agreement, at the end of the day…
PM: Humphrey! I repeat—
    Is joining the euro a condition of getting the loan?
H: Yes, Prime Minister.
(The End)
Source: Yes, Prime Minister (2013), Season 1 Episode 1, 26’15’’-29’20’’.