"So.............."

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

well quite. Who needs yobs like CBH and Katie Derham with their estuary engerlish all over the hallowed airwaves?

Katie Derham is from the South Manchester Executive belt (mostly Eastern Cheshire). It's tre that she was born in Kent, but moved to Wilmslow after a year, where most people have a fairly RP accent' apart from the footballers and Sir Alex.

[Radio64]

No English person says so nearly as much as any Italian says allora.

or Dunque ...

The current one used by politicians a lot is .."Guardi..", literal translation of 'Look...', so....

[jean]

The current one used by politicians a lot is .."Guardi..", literal translation of 'Look...'

I think that's new!

But in spite of

the ubiquitous Aussie sentence starter: Look ....

I think the Italians probably got it from Tony Blair.

[Radio64]

I think the Italians probably got it from Tony Blair.

..that's not the only thing they got from him. The new PM Renzi has always fancied himself as Italy's T.B. ...

But we digress, so.....

[ardcarp]

So....'so' is a tic, and it drives me nuts. Having just looked it up in Chambers, it seems to have roughly 3 legit. uses:

1. As a consequence, e.g. A is going to do B, so Y will have to do Z.
2. As an expression of degree, e.g. So great are Thy works, O Lord
3. As meaning 'exactly that', e.g. Just so.

I am trying to think when it began to be used in the annoying way that Draco hates so much, i.e. as a completely meaningless starter to anything requiring any sort of response. I think I first noticed it from the academics (not all) on Melvyn Bragg's programme about 5 years ago.

Can anyone remember it earlier? And can anyone think of some more legitimate uses of 'so' ?

[jean]

You haven't been paying attention.

Before so, there were other fillers, other ways of playing for time or looking for attention. Such as what.

It's just one of the ways language works.

[ed.] Besides, So used in this way is older than I thought.

The OED gives, under 5. In various elliptic uses:

c. As an introductory particle. Also so, so.This and the two following uses are common in Shakespeare's plays.

1594 Shakespeare Lucrece sig. D1, So so, quoth he, these lets attend the time.

1602 T. Heywood How Man may chuse Good Wife in W. C. Hazlitt Dodsley's Sel. Coll. Old Eng. Plays (1874) IX. 55 So, let me see: my apron.

1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo sig. Aiii, So, so, Andrea must be sent imbassador

1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxii. 251 And I say..So, my good Friends!—I am glad to see you.

1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals ii. ii, So, so, ma'am! I humbly beg pardon.

.

[Radio64]

You haven't been paying attention.

Before so, there were other fillers, other ways of playing for time or looking for attention. Such as what.

It's just one of the ways language works.

So there!

[gurnemanz]

My wife is currently annoyed by me repeatedly starting utterances with "OK". I'm sure her annoyance is justified. I think it's an unconscious tic aimed at giving the impression (usually unwarranted) that I have the situation under control.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

So there!

Sarcy so-and-so.

[Serial_Apologist]

How are you feeling today?
So so

[ardcarp]

OK. Duly ticked off...but WHEN did this particular annoying starter, filler, call-it-what-you-will become so omnipresent? It seemed to happen quite suddenly. And I'm not sure it is a simple time-filler like OK, Erm, Well. It seems to be used principally by academics (historians seem to be the worst) as a way of saying, I'm the ultimate authority in this field, listen up, my pedigree is impeccable...or am I being unkind? Anyway, fashion (linguistic or otherwise) seems to spread like wildfire.

[Radio64]

How are you feeling today?
So so

That is so not good English.

So what?

[Nick Armstrong]

Yeah, no.

It is astonishing how prevalent that is It usually denotes agreement I think and the 'no' is a sort of verbal tic parrying potential or imaginary disagreement. Very strange, it seems to me.

[Thropplenoggin]

'Very much so!' is the new 'absolutely!'

Oh, and this gem came from a news report today: 'like to kind of eat and stuff'. Where to begin parsing that?

[Don Petter]

Oh, and this gem came from a news report today: 'like to kind of eat and stuff'. Where to begin parsing that?

Tautology, I'd suggest?