real-brisker,
Sorry I couldn’t elaborate in my post; I was in the middle of aleinu. ?
You’re right that it’s bad, you’re wrong in your choice of words “as far as I’m concerned this is not any worse than talking straight out.”
You probably meant that it’s no better. (Although you’re right that it’s technically just as bad, it is not as disruptive (as Wolf said), and it also shows some level of embarrassment, which is better than someone not even acknowledging that it’s wrong.)