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anyone know the end of this phrase, is there an end to this phrase? i have only ever heard, 'well i never', and,'well i never did'.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Well, I never
seen such a thing!
seen such a thing in my entire life!
heard of such a thing!
heard of such a thing in my life!
experienced such a thing!
experienced such a thing before in my entire life!
or something else in a similar vein.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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"did", the ending is did
as in "Well, I never did!"[scandalized outrage e]
And of course the answer is either "you should have" or "I'm not surprised"
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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...heard tell of such a thing.
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Well, I never...
...would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.
Do you suppose the phrase is sufficiently unique to have a documentable origin? Or, like Topsy (xthread), did it just grow?
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i kind of thought it might have another half that goes with it but can be used alone like:
it just goes to show
with
you never can tell
no?
ok
is there a word for that, anyway?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Well, as has been amply illustrated above, "Well, I never!" is short for a longer expression and take your pick for precisely what that longer expression is.
English's ability to shorten the too-long knows no limits. Well, yes it does. Probably the ultimate contraction has to be "halfpenny'sworth" chopped down to "haypth"! I think the English language has rather rested on its laurels since coming up with that one.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Probably the ultimate contraction has to be "halfpenny'sworth" chopped down to "haypth"!
For me the champion has always been "eleëmosynary" ==> "alms".
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Carpal Tunnel
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I think that it is pretty much it. You have to fill in the end based on what is going on at that precise moment.
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