It’s one of those phrases that always makes me wait an extra beat before answering. Sometimes people come up to me at work and ask, “Are you busy?” before engaging in the rest of the conversation. I understand they are trying to be polite, but how do you answer this? Unless you see me just sitting here twiddling my thumbs, then I typically find something to keep myself busy.
I suppose we should define the term “busy.” Definitions from the Merriam-Webster dictionary include:
1 a : engaged in action : occupied
b : being in use <found the telephone busy>
2 : full of activity : bustling <a busy seaport>
3 : foolishly or intrusively active : meddling
4 : full of distracting detail <a busy design>
Amusingly, they have the context example of this word, "Are you busy? Can I talk to you for a minute?"
If I am in a grumpy mood, sometimes I’ll say “Well, I am doing something, but what’s going on?” If I want to just follow the social code, then I’ll say “Nope, what’s up?” I guess for me, I would prefer the casual small-talk upon approach, such as “Hey Idio, how’s it going?” before getting down to business. If there is no time for small-talk, then I might say something like, “Hey, do you have a moment?” This takes the shift off of what the person is currently doing, to what they can do.
By asking someone if they are busy and expecting a “no” before moving on to the next order of business, you are putting someone in a difficult predicament. If they say yes, they are busy, then they risk coming off as rude, but if they say no, then they are admitting to slacking off.
Then again, I’m probably just over-thinking it. So tell me: are you busy?
