Foreign diplomacy is both a fine art ... and a dark art.
The language of international relations is so subtly nuanced that you don't just have to read between the lines that are delivered, you have to read between lines that are not even uttered.
Every word is calculated to convey an implicit meaning — often in a vernacular that only the participants understand — and even them there is mis-communication and someone gets the wrong end of the diplomatic stick.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has no doubt been brushing up on the phraseology as she sweeps through Europe, meeting national leaders, royalty, attends her first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and pow-wows with her Five Eyes security counterparts.
She has taken some criticism for her less-than-enthuiastic take on bagging Russia, rallying behind the United States and cheering on Donald Trump's missile strikes on Syria.