it does not mean what I think it means

This post is brought to you by Linguistics!

I always thought that being explicit meant saying something clearly and laying it out point by point. I was wrong.

Using explicit correctly, here is me being explicit:
I forbid you to drink soda!

Using explicit correctly, here is me being nonexplicit:
Don't drink soda.

Under my original idea of explicitity, the above two would both constitute being explicit, because I was forthright in what I wanted and stated my desire clearly.

Here is what I thought would not constitute being explicit:

I would rather you don't drink soda.

The funny thing about the sentence "I would rather you don't drink soda" is that it actually is explicit. Ha!