This study explores the nature of requests beyond the limits of traditional speech act theory. Adopting a broader perspective when analyzing the DCT data (i.e., moving beyond the Blum-Kulka et al. [1989] framework), my study shows that informants employ strategies other than those reported in most studies using DCTs: deliberate choices of opting out, providing alternative solutions, and attempts at negotiation. A re-analysis of the DCT data revealed that in some situations, the Turkish monolinguals tended to be more reluctant to make a request, whereas the Turkish–German bilinguals opted out less frequently, but preferred indirect strategies. Thus, further investigation needs to cover not only the ‘said’, but also the ‘unsaid’ responses of the requestees, in order to shed more light on the issue of indirectness.