Turning down a date can be tricky, particularly when you don’t feel comfortable enough to blurt out “I’m just not that into you.”

Some users of the secret-sharing Whisper app went to a whole lot of trouble to wriggle out of a less-than-appealing date, offering up excuses that are strange, imaginative, and sometimes totally unbelievable.

Clearly thrilled with their ingenious excuses, however, many people couldn’t wait to offer them up for public review — using the app’s promise of anonymity to spill without repercussions.

“I can’t, I’m at Walmart,” one woman wrote when a man texted her about meeting up. When he checked in again three hours later to ask if she was home yet, she said, “No, I’m still at Walmart.”

Some people blamed their pets for making them unavailable, with one saying “My pet ferret has anxiety attacks so I can’t be away from him for too long or he’ll get worried about me.”

Others told lies that tempted fate, creating fake personal tragedies that left them “occupied.”

“Grandma was in hospital,” one woman said she told a man who was pursuing her, before adding why the excuse almost didn’t work: “He offered to go with me.”

Of course, sometimes just saying that you’re busy doesn’t do the trick, as a determined person might continue to try to find a time that works. To prevent that possibility, some people just attempted to scare potential dates off.

“There’s a porno of me circling the web right now. You OK with that?” wrote one, while another woman said she told a man, “I have a male genitalia phobia.”

Two girls even told men that going out with guys was against the rules, saying, “My dad doesn’t allow me to go out on dates by myself,” and “I’m a nun and I’m not allowed to marry.”

Then, naturally, there is the option of telling someone you play for a different team, as one woman told a man “I think I just found out I’m not into guys. I’m homosexual.”

拒绝约会也是需要技巧的，尤其当你不好意思直说“我只是没那么喜欢你”的时候。

在秘密分享程序“耳语”上，有些用户为了逃避不想去的约会，千方百计编造出一些奇怪的、超乎想象、甚至难以置信的理由。这些用户对自己机智的理由沾沾自喜，所以大多数人迫不及待地分享这些理由—这款APP承诺匿名发布内容，人们分享时无需顾忌什么。

“不行，我在沃尔玛呢”一位女士在男士短信邀约见面时这样回答。三个小时后这位男士再次问她是否到家了，这位女士回答：“没有，我还在沃尔玛。”

有些人抱怨自己的宠物让他们忙得抽不开身，有人说：“我的宠物雪貂焦虑症发作了，我不能离开它太久，要不它会担心我的。”

另外有些人用造化弄人的谎言来编个悲惨故事，表明他们真的“没时间”。

比如一位女士对她的追求者说：“我奶奶住院了。”但后来她说这个理由差点不行，因为“他说要和我一起去。”

当然，有时候单单表示你很忙是没用的，因为一个有决心的人会接着跟你约其他合适的时间。为了防止这种可能性，有些人试图吓跑潜在的约会对象。

有一位女士写道：“网上有一张我的艳照，你能接受吗？”还有一位女士跟一位男士说：“我有男性生殖器恐惧症。”

还有两位女生对男士表示跟他们约会是不合规的，其中一位说：“父亲不允许我单独约会”，另一位则说：“我是修女，不能结婚。”当然，你也可以选择告诉别人你和他们不是一类人，比如一位女士跟一位男士说：“我刚刚发现我不喜欢男人，我是同性恋。”

     Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【脱口而出】tuōkǒu érchū blurt out say abruptly or inadvertently, utter without thinking

    【影响】yǐngxiǎng repercussion an effect or result, often indirect or remote, of some event or action