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#14854 01/10/01 04:39 PM
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I have been following the "but" debate with fascinated interest - thank goodness it hasn't caught on over here, yet - and I'm wondering if its use is as a type of phatic emphasis.

Rhu, your but is phat, all right.
(Sorry, I just could NOT resist that!)


#14855 01/11/01 07:10 AM
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old hand
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every second sentence with "grundsätzlich"..
"irgendwie" (somehow) is another of these tags. It originated, I suspect, from people being forced to utter their feelings rather than their opinions. - Anyone around who remembers "encounter groups"?


#14856 01/11/01 05:19 PM
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Most mornings I have coffee with colleagues in a cafe in the building I work in. It was called "The Flying Dux" for reasons lost in the mists of its first owner, but now it's just called "The Dux". Unfortunately, "dux" doesn't apply to the staff, who are typically a mixture of odd and pretentious.

They are trained to say "Enjoy!" brightly as they deposit your coffee in front of you. They're eclectic too, because they don't seem to differentiate between the cup and saucer as suitable receptacles for hot coffee.

They don't know the danger they're in. One of my off-siders is really ready to kill! She mutters and stabs dark looks of unfeigned resentment at the unsuspecting servitors every time. Not sure if it's the "Enjoy!" or the use of the saucer that brings her on though. I believe it doesn't matter any more, she's just about ready to go postal.



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#14857 01/11/01 05:49 PM
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even worse, in my opinion, is "Have a good one!"; I am left to puzzle out what, as with "Enjoy!".


#14858 01/11/01 05:56 PM
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How ya doin' - or -
What's up (ssup)

Nobody really cares about an answer, or they answer it for me with the same words ... I'm crushed every time

At least I'm not a stranger anymore

#14859 01/11/01 06:00 PM
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Worse yet, my wife and I (she more than I, of course) greatly resent being addressed as "you guys". In US parlance, a guy is masculine, as in Guys & Dolls; in British parlance, it's not complimentary either.


#14860 01/11/01 08:19 PM
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Rhu, your but is phat, all right
Jackie - sssssh!!!! nobody is supposed to know that you know that!!


#14861 01/12/01 03:30 AM
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, my wife and I (she more than I, of course) greatly resent being addressed as "you guys".

Bob, you get a [stand up and cheer emoticon]!

Rhuby--I know nothink, nothink...[wide-eyed innocence-con]

Musick, you cute little newbie you, send private (if you want) and tell me all about how you are. I'll listen, if it takes all night.


#14862 01/12/01 05:00 AM
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I'm not sure about these days, but back when I was a young punk kid in my 30s "you guys" was common for both sexes. Sometimes women would only use it for other women but I've heard it used in reference to mixed sex groups. One of my favorite quotes was from someone who didn't accept use of the phrase in reference to females who quoted someone who did use it for females saying, "I've even heard guys use it that way!" Somehow he thought he had scored some kind of a coup.


#14863 01/12/01 07:08 AM
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>even worse, in my opinion, is "Have a good one!"; I am left to puzzle out what, as with "Enjoy!"

Oh yes. In my youth this expression had something to do with the sexual act. I tend to be bemused when I hear "Have a Good One! I always wonder why people who say this should have so much concern for my sex life!


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