“Wait, what do you mean by that?” has prevented more fights than any apology.

Most fights start in the gap between what someone said and what you decided it meant. Asking closes that gap while it is still small, before either of you has built a case. It also slows the whole thing by three seconds, which is often all the cooling a conversation needs. An apology repairs, a question prevents.

When a line lands wrong this week, ask what they meant before you answer it. Ask it flat and curious, not as a trap, and about half the time the fight simply does not happen.