@Dr_BellaR My husband is a driving instructor and he thought one of his new pupils was called Tia. Her provisional licence was in a completely different name. He asked if she preferred Tia. No she responded, that is short for Thank you In Advance!! He was v embarrassed. Oh how we laughed!
@NatashaMrsSmith I worked in a small rural primary school in my NQT year in 1998. I still send and receive cards from the head, DH, my old TA and the other class teacher. One of my Christmas highlights is receiving their cards & hearing all of their news.
An apology needs to (a) include the word 'sorry' (b) not attempt to excuse poor behaviour as a 'joke' and (c) not blame other people for their reaction to it. This is not complicated.