Let's suppose you are asked about confirming or denying an occurrence or a story or something like that and you don't want / cannot accept or deny it; what is the fixed term / sentence for this meaning in US?
I literally translate what I would say in my mother language; please let me know if it works in AE in these ways:
I neither accept nor refuse this statement.
I neither accept nor reject this statement.
I neither accept nor deny this statement.
I would be really thankful if you clarify whether there is a preference between these three sentences or they are identical.
Best Answer
I would not use either of those sentences. You do not typically accept or refuse a statement, unless you refuse to believe it or something along those lines.
The prefered idiom is:
It means that you do not want to or are not allowed to tell the truth for whatever reason. This is typically often used during interviews or official police press conferences.
It has even become a meme used on pictures of Obama, Grumpy cat or Fry for instance.