"Will Rogers" second chance
Refers to the rare and off-the-scale-wonderful "
lucky break" obtained in the following scenario: you are "just suffering" to say something rude/impolite, but then of course you immediately regret said verbal-indiscretion just as soon as it's slipped past yer
flapper. But then --- by the grace of Fate --- the
unwitting recipient of your
snide remark either hadn't been paying attention properly
when you'd uttered your auditory barb, he is a bit hard-of-hearing, or you hadn't been speaking loudly enough to be heard over the distance and/or other background noises that were present at the time, and so your "victim" never actually understood --- nor did he suffer any emotional distress from --- your insult, and so he innocently/apologetically asks you to repeat yourself. But of course, YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO SAY THE MEAN STATEMENT A SECOND TIME --- now that you've "relieved your internal pressure" by initially making the simmery-tempered remark and then THINKING that the other person heard you, you can now proceed more clear-headedly, and so you can simply say, "Nuthin'" or, "Never mind" when the other person asks you what you'd said.