This article provides an elaborate analysis of two leading accounts of off-record indirect speech: Politeness Theory (Brown and Levinson's ,1978/1987) and Strategic Speaker approach (Pinker 2007; Pinker et al. 2008; Lee and Pinker 2010). It explores two extra motivations for off-record speech, immediacy and intimacy, in order to offer a more inclusive view of off-record indirectness. It concludes with theoretical considerations and empirical prognoses.