# So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?



## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

I know this has nothing in the world to do with trains, but I just have to rant for a bit...

What is the deal with people using "So" to start every sentence? Listen to the radio or television, especially NPR and PBS, where you have so-called "educated" people talking about various things. Invariably, one or more will begin every thought, if not every sentence, with the word "so." "So, what were talking about is..." "So, the point we're trying to make it..." Etc.


So, that's really starting to get on my nerves! So, do people not understand what the word means? So, I guess they don't care, as long as somebody is listening to the sounds emanating from their bodies.

Anybody else notice this? Find it annoying? Have an explanation? I sure don't remember hearing people talk like this ten years ago.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

So, like what like do you like want us to, like do? Like kill a like valley girl in like, protest? Like fer sure, really....


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Mik on 05/29/2009 9:29 PM
So, like what like do you like want us to, like do? Like kill a like valley girl in like, protest? Like fer sure, really....













Judged by Moon herslef!!!!!


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

So, like, y'know, um.... yeah.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

Our education system (and tax dollars) at work.


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

So, what's your problem? 
So, it's like, so, you know, so LAME. 
So, we all talk like this, so, you know, we can get you SO upset, so, you get all unglued, man, so lighten up, dude. 

Sow, Sow, Sow yer oats, oh, wait.


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## jbwilcox (Jan 2, 2008)

I find myself using "so" quite a bit. 

The other day i listened to an interview on the Radio and the guy used "You Know" 37 times in a two minute rant. Now that is really bad.

John


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

You know it's bad when you count the "you knows" in a two-minute segment, you know?


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

So?


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti? 

Later, 

K


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

Sew? 
Sow? 
So!


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

This whole thread is just so-so.


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

OK, OK, I know it's minor in the grand scheme of things. Just tired and cranky after a long day at work, listening to people "so, like, umm, you know, or whatever" all day. On a good day, I'm just curious where such idiosyncrasies come from. On a bad day, I'm ready to throw the book at them (specifically, a dictionary and/or grammar book). Let's hope for my poor conductor's sake that today is a good day.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Yea I that drives me nuts too Its like fingers on a chalk board. 

The other ones are " YA Know" " I went to the train show ( ya know) and I saw this caboose ( ya know) and it was red ( ys know)

"Sorry about that"

" He goes and I goes>>>>" When it should be He said and I said 

Sister Mary Antohny use to make us tell stories in front of the class of something we did and if you siad Ya Know. You got smacked up side the back of the head with a ruler. They should have never outlawed child abuse in schools


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

The "ya know" and "like" and other useless phrases are "fillers" while the speaker thinks of what they want to say. If you stop speaking to allow the brain to engage and come up with what you want to say, someone else will grab the conversation and either say what you want to, (thus stealing your thunder) or change the subject (thus you lose the opportunity to say something about the present subject). By continuing to speak, even if it is just random nonsense gibberish, you hold the focus of the conversation and keep others from interrupting. In Congress it is known as "Filibuster"!


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## Road Foreman (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

My favorites are "Oh Cool, that's Cool, Cool".. 

BulletBob


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

*So Sorry.*


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

If you stop speaking to allow the brain to engage and come up with what you want to say, someone else will grab the conversation...
The Duke was famous for his pregnant pauses while speaking: 

"Wull, I'll... TELL yuh, Pilgrim!!"


'Course, nobody stole his thunder because he was The DUKE!


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## jebouck (Jan 2, 2008)

Listening to the interviews on "Lock-up".

"Yuh know what I mean" every other sentence.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By jebouck on 05/30/2009 9:08 AM
Listening to the interviews on "Lock-up".

"Yuh know what I mean" every other sentence. 




The good reporter knows when to answer that with, "No, I don't, please explain it to me."


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

What about two of em that drive's me CRAZY You know i AXED him a question, and "you know what i'm sayin" The other day on a certain judge's show this guy used the second sentence about every other time he talked!!! Ya know what m sayin, homey don't play that game I been a gettin my prop's ya know what i'm a sayin! Every time I hear you have to AXE him I wish an actual hatchet or axe would drop down and end his/her problem permanently. Just a rantin and a ravin!! Hah LOL The Regal


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 05/30/2009 9:28 AM
Posted By jebouck on 05/30/2009 9:08 AM
Listening to the interviews on "Lock-up".

"Yuh know what I mean" every other sentence. 




The good reporter knows when to answer that with, "No, I don't, please explain it to me." 


John whatz up, did you escape from the OTHER side or what??????? LOL The Regal
Least wize we must be watchin the same or similar shows.


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 05/30/2009 9:28 AM
Posted By jebouck on 05/30/2009 9:08 AM
Listening to the interviews on "Lock-up".

"Yuh know what I mean" every other sentence. 




The good reporter knows when to answer that with, "No, I don't, please explain it to me." 


Ours in Nashville are out of control. The other day "the cops busted" so and so..... We had a camera guy next door as a neighbor once, nice guy, paired with a total jackass.....


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## Engineercub (Oct 18, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

Oh come on now Garrett, you know darn well that Nashvillians are the carriers of 'Souther Hospitality' and as such they are real sweet, nice, and friendly, especially when driving. ;-P So... is actually from the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) realm. Everything starts with So..... or So like...... I think gramatics turned to theatrics lol. But it could be worse, you could be seeing posts like... 

So like OMGWTF noob I totally PWNED you with my 1337 lithium traxx. No way can a Power Player defeat me. 

-Will


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

Posted By blueregal on 05/30/2009 9:31 AM
What about two of em that drive's me CRAZY You know i AXED him a question, and "you know what i'm sayin" The other day on a certain judge's show this guy used the second sentence about every other time he talked!!! Ya know what m sayin, homey don't play that game I been a gettin my prop's ya know what i'm a sayin! Every time I hear you have to AXE him I wish an actual hatchet or axe would drop down and end his/her problem permanently. Just a rantin and a ravin!! Hah LOL The Regal


I think my wife watches the same shows! I've told her that if anyone ever AXES me anything, she's to sue them for wrongful death, or at least all my medical bills.


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

"Actually" is the one that drives me nuts. Actually this and actually that ... It makes me wonder if they haven't been lying to us all along, and are just now fessing up the "actual" truth!!

And "having said that" (Yes, we are fully aware that you just said that) bugs me too. There's more ... I'm easily bugged


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## jamarti (Jan 2, 2008)

So, ya know I stumbled into this thread "on" accident.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

A word used to fill gaps. Like air pockets in the brain.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

so gents, like, why didn't you cover my, like, peeve? 

"I don't mean to insult you..." so prepare for a full blown, like, barrage! As if like the disclaimer allows the, like y'know, insult to be delivered without repercussions! 

Actually I mean to insult you, you friggin moron...So?


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

Preachers can get funny verbal habits. Pastor L used to say things like, "Turn with me in your Bible, Galatians Chapter 2, the very 13th verse."


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

Posted By Del Tapparo on 05/30/2009 3:45 PM
"Actually" is the one that drives me nuts. Actually this and actually that ... It makes me wonder if they haven't been lying to us all along, and are just now fessing up the "actual" truth!!

And "having said that" (Yes, we are fully aware that you just said that) bugs me too. There's more ... I'm easily bugged










"Actually" is the very one that's been bugging me lately, too. I just noticed its pervasiveness in the last year or so, and now I'm over-sensitized to it. Maybe someday I'll get lucky and get numbed to it. 

Don't get me started on how I feel about "upspeak" (ending every sentence as if it were a question).


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

"Actually" is the one that drives me nuts. Actually this and actually that ... It makes me wonder if they haven't been lying to us all along, and are just now fessing up the "actual" truth!! 

And "having said that" (Yes, we are fully aware that you just said that) bugs me too. There's more ... I'm easily bugged 
Actually, it isn't all that bad - at least it's a multiple-syllable word. 

Having said that, it is somewhat overused.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Don't ya know is better. Later RJD


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

idioms slang and jargon


imprecise communication, incomplete thoughts, vacuos thoughts 


english,including words and gramatical rules, is a living language-things change, 


even lawyers rarely speak as if they are 'on the record', striving for spoken sentences that are perfect and unambiguous the first time 


 


certainly this isnt the first time you've noticed these trends in spoken word, even by professional journalists 


 


so long as you understand things you're OK


the king's english will change with use


-nothing that you or i do or say, or think, will change that


stand fast as an example-but be flexible enough to keep up with things


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## jbwilcox (Jan 2, 2008)

A friend of mine ended almost every sentence with "That There".

It absolutely drove me crazy.

So, you know that is how it was back then.

When I lived in Hawaii, the locals used "Da Kine" whenever they could not think of the correct word.

It took some time to understand what they were saying.

John


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

My nephew Josh as a preschooler started every sentence with "Don't you know?"


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By DKRickman on 05/29/2009 9:17 PM
I know this has nothing in the world to do with trains, but I just have to rant for a bit...

What is the deal with people using "So" to start every sentence? Listen to the radio or television, especially NPR and PBS, where you have so-called "educated" people talking about various things. Invariably, one or more will begin every thought, if not every sentence, with the word "so." "So, what were talking about is..." "So, the point we're trying to make it..." Etc.


So, that's really starting to get on my nerves! So, do people not understand what the word means? So, I guess they don't care, as long as somebody is listening to the sounds emanating from their bodies.

Anybody else notice this? Find it annoying? Have an explanation? I sure don't remember hearing people talk like this ten years ago.




So...? At least it's a word _almost_ everyone can spell!


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

It ain't 'jargon', 'idiom', or 'slang' anymore. It's brain farts! Brain farts, I tell ya! All them words are there just to fill the holes in vacuous thinking. 

(I'd say something about teachers no longer being able to TEACH because they are too busy trying to maintain some semblance of ORDER in a room full of little monsters, because PARENTS are too lazy to parent.... but I already managed to annoy the mods enough this week)


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

All them words are there just to fill the holes in vacuous thinking. 


And contribute to Global Warming


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## Great Western (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By stevedenver on 06/02/2009 11:57 AM
the king's english will change with use

Steve, it has been the Queens English since 1952


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

What is truly sad is that it is now possible to construct a complete sentence (perhaps an entire paragraph) using only the 'f' word... Who needs Carlin's '10 words' anymore?


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

whut?


im heretatellya


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

Posted By Great Western on 06/03/2009 10:42 AM
Posted By stevedenver on 06/02/2009 11:57 AM
the king's english will change with use
 
Steve, it has been the Queens English since 1952 









see what i mean


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

Semi-amusing story. I went to visit my son in Philly. On the way to dinner one evening we stopped at a convenience store to get some antihistamines - being North Philly, we locked the doors, even though there were 3 adults staying in the car. On the way out we were accosted by this little black fellow jabbering this unintelligible phrase over and over. 

I asked my son what he was saying... Eli said "It's the local version of jive, er ebonics - He says he wants $5 for making sure your car wasn't stolen while you were in the store." Oh, why didn't he just SAY so?.... Then Eli told him in a mix of gutter Spanish and prison lingo to get lost... or something like that. Anyway the guy's eyes got wide and he took off. 

I wonder if he could have WORKED for the store instead if he'd chosen to speak English. But maybe there is more money in shaking down tourists?


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

Posted By Dwight Ennis on 06/01/2009 2:55 PM
"Actually" is the one that drives me nuts. Actually this and actually that ... It makes me wonder if they haven't been lying to us all along, and are just now fessing up the "actual" truth!! 

And "having said that" (Yes, we are fully aware that you just said that) bugs me too. There's more ... I'm easily bugged 
Actually, it isn't all that bad - at least it's a multiple-syllable word. 

Having said that, it is somewhat overused. 

Jim writes (why is it so danged hard to get replies to quoted messages to come out right on this forum???!!!):

WAY over used, IMHO. And being multiple-syllable means it just takes up more airtime saying nothing.


Today I called a retail store to ask a question. I got the operator, and asked to speak to someone in a specific department. "Please hold". A few seconds later a different person comes on the line, so I assume I've been properly transferred, and ask my question. Her response: "Oh! Actually, hang on . . ."


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## GG (Jan 1, 2009)

Eh?


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

...Steve, it has been the Queens English since 1952...

Do they speak English in Queens? I work with a guy who grew up in the Bronx, and I pretty much need an interpretor!  

Later, 

K


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By RimfireJim on 06/03/2009 6:25 PM
Posted By Dwight Ennis on 06/01/2009 2:55 PM
"Actually" is the one that drives me nuts. Actually this and actually that ... It makes me wonder if they haven't been lying to us all along, and are just now fessing up the "actual" truth!! 

And "having said that" (Yes, we are fully aware that you just said that) bugs me too. There's more ... I'm easily bugged 
Actually, it isn't all that bad - at least it's a multiple-syllable word. 

Having said that, it is somewhat overused.









Jim writes (why is it so danged hard to get replies to quoted messages to come out right on this forum???!!!):

WAY over used, IMHO. And being multiple-syllable means it just takes up more airtime saying nothing.


Today I called a retail store to ask a question. I got the operator, and asked to speak to someone in a specific department. "Please hold". A few seconds later a different person comes on the line, so I assume I've been properly transferred, and ask my question. Her response: "Oh! Actually, hang on . . ." 



Jim

It isn't, after the HTML Editor screen displays, simply...
[*] Left-click somewhere within the 'Content' area.
[*] Use the {Ctrl+End} keyboard key combination to move the cursor to the bottom of the 'Content' area.
[*] Start typing your reply.
[/list]


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## sschaer (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

be happy there's a 'so' out there.... wouldn't it sound awful if we'd talk about the 'uthern pacific' ? the 'o line' ? drink 'uthern comfort' ?


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

"And in America, they haven't used it for years!" -- Professor Henry Higgins, "_My Fair Lady_"


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: So, what's the deal with the overuse of "So"?*

The one I liked was the spelling of Mr 'arrison: a haitch, a hay, 2 harrs, a hi, a hess, a ho and a hen.


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

Posted By SteveC on 06/03/2009 7:12 PM
Posted By RimfireJim on 06/03/2009 6:25 PM
Posted By Dwight Ennis on 06/01/2009 2:55 PM
"Actually" is the one that drives me nuts. Actually this and actually that ... It makes me wonder if they haven't been lying to us all along, and are just now fessing up the "actual" truth!! 

And "having said that" (Yes, we are fully aware that you just said that) bugs me too. There's more ... I'm easily bugged 
Actually, it isn't all that bad - at least it's a multiple-syllable word. 

Having said that, it is somewhat overused.









Jim writes (why is it so danged hard to get replies to quoted messages to come out right on this forum???!!!):

WAY over used, IMHO. And being multiple-syllable means it just takes up more airtime saying nothing.


Today I called a retail store to ask a question. I got the operator, and asked to speak to someone in a specific department. "Please hold". A few seconds later a different person comes on the line, so I assume I've been properly transferred, and ask my question. Her response: "Oh! Actually, hang on . . ." 



Jim

It isn't, after the HTML Editor screen displays, simply...
[*] Left-click somewhere within the 'Content' area.
[*] Use the {Ctrl+End} keyboard key combination to move the cursor to the bottom of the 'Content' area.
[*] Start typing your reply.
[/list] 

Thanks. I thought I had figured it out before, and generally it worked, but not always. Didn't know about {Ctrl+End}.


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