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Lately I note this expr used in mitigating response to an unwarranted umbrage, eg
John: What a colorful tie
Bill: So you think it's too bright? That I'm trying to draw attention? You think I'm a showoff?
John: I was just sayin'
I am wondering if you also have picked up on this usage, would you agree with my observation, or given my somewhat inadequate vocabulary, how could I have better described the phenom--thanks all
Last edited by dalehileman; 10/31/06 01:01 PM.
dalehileman
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I ain't sayin', I'm just sayin'.
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Fal: Good ones
Note that I edited my def in hope of better describing the phenom. Did I succeed and how could it be better put
dalehileman
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I only see it used by children in a pre-emptive strike. They know perfectly well that they're about to say something wrong but they seem to think if they preface it with this magical cantrip no harm will befall them.
Ummm, I'm just sayin', why are you so fat?
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'Wat ud ye be sayin', mistress?' said the countryman, whose attention the hostess had been unable to gain until he had cleared the passage for a response by an application to the jug. 'Why, I'm just sayin', Mr. Brady, she's a rare mither as ud trusten her wee led to tha Yorksheer measters.' - E. Lloyd, Grumbleby Hall (1883) 
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myr: Good one, I can use it
tsu: Thank you for that. However, in the sense I indicate, the respondent doesn't explain what it is he's sayin'
dalehileman
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Quote:
... in the sense I indicate, the respondent doesn't explain what it is he's sayin'
Wull... Cause he just said it.
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Fal: Sorry if I wasn't clear. What I meant to convey was that the expr "I was just sayin'" in the context of the example is one requiring no further elaboration on just what it was that the speaker was sayin' and so stands alone
Last edited by dalehileman; 10/31/06 11:18 PM.
dalehileman
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Another meaningless utterance that irritates me to hear is:
Ya' know
A carry-over from the early '80s it is overused/misused/abused far too frequently.
My mother-in-law peppers her speech liberally with this phrase:
"I was talking to Karen, ya' know, and she told me she went out to what's-his-name to get, ya' know, another thing for her, ya' know."
And on, and on.
Saddest of all is that, after a telephone conversation with her, my dear wife will carry the (bad) habit in her speech patterns for several hours!
Ya' know what I mean?
"I am certain there is too much certainty in the world" -Michael Crichton
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formerly known as etaoin...
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1. "I'm just saying" (and its variants) isn't meaningless.
b. How do you know "y'know" dates from the early 80s? Which century?
iii. What's the apostrophe doing in your spelling of the term?
Enquiring minds want to know. At least this one does.
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Casssell's places "you know" at late 19C+
One might suppose the apostrophe replaces "ou"
Irritates me too 'cause, y' know, I'm a prescriptivist
dalehileman
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>One might suppose the apostrophe replaces "ou" now explain "ya' know"..
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Quote:
>One might suppose the apostrophe replaces "ou"
now explain "ya' know"..
tsanks for, ah, spelling out the question, tsuwm. Guess I wasn't clear, huh. 
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Quote:
1. "I'm just saying" (and its variants) isn't meaningless.
b. How do you know "y'know" dates from the early 80s? Which century?
iii. What's the apostrophe doing in your spelling of the term?
Enquiring minds want to know. At least this one does.
From personal experience, I recall this becoming prevalent during the "hippies" era of American History. That was a time when things were,
cool
boss
hip
heavy
groovy (much later, toward the Disco era)
et cetera.
"I am certain there is too much certainty in the world" -Michael Crichton
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Quote:
1. "I'm just saying" (and its variants) isn't meaningless.
I guess that depends on what you mean by meaning 
You are so ugly.
vs.
I'm just saying, you are so ugly.
Does one really make you want to hit the speaker any less than the other? 
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Quote:
Another meaningless utterance that irritates me to hear is:
Ya' know
There's a term for this sort of locution. Other varieties are "um", "er" and "uh". They're used to continue speech flow while the speaker is framing his thoughts thus avoiding being interrupted by someone who thinks the speaker has finished talking.
Quote:
A carry-over from the early '80s it is overused ... far too frequently.
Is there another way to overuse something?
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>There's a term for this..
here's one -- I don't know if this is yours..
embolalia
the use of... um... virtually meaningless filler words, phrases, or... er... stammerings (or so-called hesitation-forms) in speech, whether as... uh... unconscious utterings while arranging one's thoughts or as... like... a vacuous, inexpressive... you know... mannerism
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Works for me.
I guess the reason some complain about some of these, e.g., "ya know" or "like", but not others, e.g., "um" or "er", is that the dissaproved terms have a life beyond their embolality and are thus somehow traitors. The words that are otherwise meaningless don't have anything to live up to and do not betray.
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Is there another way to overuse something? 
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ParkinT: does the lady hail from the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts? It is rife there and after a visit I must excercise severe discipline to stop myself from yaknowing every other phrase! Exasperating ya know!
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