Dear Geist,

Why does our boss at the restaurant tell us wait staff never to say “No problem” to customers? It tells them we’re on it, reassures them that everything’s fine, etc. etc. And people everywhere else say it all the time. When we ask the boss why, she tells us to figure it out. We need a hint!

—Wait staff at an otherwise great eatery

Dear Wait Staff,

Our guess is that your boss understands the little-known psychology of certain words and phrases. In this case it would be the word problem. “No problem” is meant to reassure people that all is well, but our human brains, alert to potential danger of any sort, go right to the possibly troublesome negative word, regardless of context.

—The Editors