Greg Rogers

I can't believe how overused this "so" word is lately. I listen to NPR a lot and I notice when a person is asked a question, about 50% of the time the answer starts with "so". I've also noticed it on this site. Lots of the threads start with "so". "So, I went to start my Olds yesterday and it....." I guess these weird uses of words come and go. Remember "like"? "I'm like are you going to the swap meet? and she's like no I cant." I think that one is pretty much phased out, but it sure was big 10 years ago. Just a observation...

Oldskeeper

So, like I don't get where you are coming from MAN.
I personally haven't noticed the use of "so" but the kids over here north of Toronto still use "like" all the time, even my kids use it and it drives me crazy. I keep wondering what they like and don't like.
Steve

wr1970

Picky buggers aren't you!! The meaning is slang!

bob p

There are plenty of phrases that are getting over-used in conversation. Some of them are just a fad. But customer service personnel over-use some terms to such a great extent that I'm convinced that they are coached about what buzzwords they're supposed to use when talking to customers.

Customer service people don't like to ever admit that there is a "problem." Instead of admitting that there is a "problem" they insist that it's really an "issue". As if calling a rose by some other name will change the thorny nature of the situation. This has spread in business circles as well. Business people are programmed not to utter the word "problem" and to refer to "issues" instead.

"No worries" has spread like wildfire. I remember first hearing that expression ~10 years ago on a trip to New Zealand, and never hearing it again after I returned to the USA. 10 years later now everyone in the USA is saying it. That seems a bit odd. It definitely seems like an affectation.

"Perfect" is getting used way too much by customer service personnel. When I'm asked to give my name and address, the customer service people on the phone allways respond now by saying "perfect." I can't imagine how or why anyone would think that "perfect" fits into the context of the conversation, but customer service people everywhere are using the term inappropriately. they have to be coached into doing that. It really makes them sound stupid.

Slang is fine, but I don't think we're being picky buggers when we complain that some people sound like total asses when they display such poor language skills in a business context.

1970cs

"SO" sounds better and more intelligent than "AND UHM" Not that I am condoning the use of either.

"it's like" IIRC that came from my teen days from the "valley girl talk"

Pat

Octania

Remember a couple of years ago when no one "said" anything, but "went" instead?

So, I was all like "oh my God" [before "OMG," yes]

and he goes, "no way."

And I go, "way!"

Macadoo

I wish we had "problems" and "issues" at school. Now problems and issues are called "opportunities". Gag me with a spoon!

oldolds88

the one that gets me is when sports people are asked a question,and their answer starts.."i mean"

Greg Rogers

Yeah It's funny how words meanings change. A friend's wife graduated from high school in the fifties and her "quote" under her picture was "I could be sad but I'd rather be gay".

chip-powell

I can deal with "so". It's when my kids say "whatever" that I want to reach across the dinner table and strangle them.


I remember speech class (oh so many years ago) where the instructor said that beginning a sentence with words such as "like" and "so" was a sign of not thinking or caring about what you were talking about. His advice was that when asked a question, do not answer immediately. He said to pause for a moment, think about your response, and then answer directly. It was his pet peeve, and I have to admit, it irritates me as well.

wr1970

You guys are dwelling on trivial bull to much!! That is why i say you are picky buggers! Now the "oh well" gets me seeing red also when kids start mouthing off. Most of what the rest of you are getting wound up about to me isn't that big of a deal. Those words will come and go!

Greg Rogers

It's funny about "whatever", I was guilty of using it quite a lot. I would say "I'm going to pickup some chips or whatever." Meaning I'm going to pickup some snacks. But then I was informed by my wife the new meaning of "whatever", as in "I don't care" or "talk to the hand" etc. I now try not to use the word at all. Also "no problem" is now synonymous with "you're welcome".

Greg Rogers

I agree it's no big deal at all. Just fun to see what others think about it.

wr1970

My take on the word so is this. It is a ice breaker to open a conversation examples! So what would you do! How about the Word "well" it is the same as "so". Older generation useage "Well i never" Meaning they were disgusted or put out by someone actions. This is imo only!

chip-powell

Actually, I'm referring to when you ask your kids a question, or ask them to complete a chore, and their response is "Whatever". I take the translation of that to mean "go to h**l!". That's when I feel like reaching across the dinner table and giving them a more physical lesson in the use of the English language than they might have been prepared for.

Olds_71_442

I remember hearing baseball players from the Dominican Republic using the phrase "ya know, ya know, ya know" the same way teenage girls use the word "like".

seansolds

I think using "so" is a continuing conversation which never ends, can be postponed and picked up at a later date. Example, so as I was saying per our last conversation.
Or maybe the beginning of a really good joke!
Anyways, you have me thinking about changing the way I introduce a conversation.
Thanks
Sean

Macadoo

So, a Priest, a Rabbi, and an Olds mechanic walk into a bar......

seansolds

So then the mechanic says, that's not my FATHERS oldsmobile!
Lol

Macadoo

Lol!

Octania

So...
Sew what?

Sew buttons on your underwear!

slantflat

I've heard many people use "so" as the -last- word of the sentence. Any sentence. Very annoying. As if they are going to keep talking, but don't.

tecar442

They're not "problems", nor "issues" at my workplace, they are "opportunities for improvement". So............whatever!

Bfg

You reap what you so!

Koda

Slang moves. You know it is old when 50 year old divorcees are saying it. Current one is "I know, right?" Had that come from some girl ringing me up yesterday. No, you ditz, if you KNEW, you would have FIXED IT already and not needed me to tell you.

70Post

You are VERY observant. That word apparently is one of the new "fad" words to lead off answers to questions. I watch a lot of interviews on the 'Net and I COMPLETELY AGREE.....it's become "the" word to use by many folks. Like others mention.....these words sort of take hold and get adopted by others. Right now, the "So" lead-off is the biggest thing in terms of number of folks using it.

Worse yet, IMO, is the habit of interviewees to start an answer to every question with "That's a great question......". Gee, thanks for the highly overused and completely disingenuous complement. Can you JUST GET TO THE ANSWER NOW!??

Not getting political but Obama has just about worn out the lead-off phrase of "Let me be clear.....". Really??.....Were you trying to be "unclear" before when you didn't lead off with that phrase. I know, they're trying to emphasize or grab your attention for the particular point they are trying make BUT when every other sentence begins that way it sort of loses its effect I think. Lawyers will do that (get wordy just to be wordy).

I guess this is linguistic anthropology or something to that effect.

So......... (sorry, couldn't resist Greg).

TripDeuces

So = a needle pulling thread. There you have it.

bob p

Saw that at IMAX on Wednesday.

Greg Rogers

So, I know ...OOPS... I know this is a old thread I started a while back, but it's even more used now. I find it amusing....

z11375ss

I like the one where the interviewee is asked a question as in, "What do you think of the current situation?" The interviewee responds by starting the answer with, "Sure, I think this or that." They start off every answer with "Sure'. Sounds ridiculous to me.
Another thing that has entered our lexicon is when you say, "Thank you." The person, (anyone under thirty) answers with, "No problem." What ever happened to the simple, "Your welcome"? I'm getting old, apparently.

Inline

.. And then there comes the sudden foreigner and rapes written english

Here in Finland, same thing, some words come and go from spoken language.
Remember well myself since it wasnt so long ago when i was still in school.
And young?

truckman5000

Nothing as bad as what ive started to here.
The IIRC, OMG, TTYL, and more said while talking to someone. My 15yld sisters and their friends talk like that...
The kids that say LIKE 12 times in a conversation are brutal though.

marxjunk

Andrew Dice Clay made it popular in the 80s if you are old enough to remember..when ever he started to tell a story or certain jokes it was the first word..

like this..

i cant quote the famous one he used..but just google him and

'SO..there i was...with my...." its not family friendly..so ya know..

and then Foxworthy wore it out for a while...and on and on..so...now its part of the urban talk

so..there ya have it...

70-442-W30

If you are just starting to notice this now, chances are you haven't been around the tech scene much. Used excessively by the early adopters of all things social internet many many years ago.

Railguy

I've seen on reality shows they start about ever other sentence with so.
I once heard that ummm and ooh are ways of holding your place in conversation a way of signaling that your not finished speaking. Also it could be a way stimulating the speach part of the brain when you Don t know how to word what you want to say. So could be like that. Also when I m posting I v noticed that I use the word "also" alot but can t think of ever using it in regular conversation. Hmmm.
Railguy

76olds

So this has been bothersome for quite sometime it seems, so did you get the responses your were expecting? So it seems nothing has changed since early 2015 or so.
So is this thread going to keep coming up, if so, it bores me to death, so to speak.
I'm so over this already.
So ?