Jul 26, 2017 3 min read

So, I thought I would write a column this week about something I have noticed over the past year. So, possibly you may have noticed this same phenomenon, too. So, I have to explain it to you using the same verbiage I keep hearing in everyday conversation. Get the picture?

Why is everyone suddenly beginning every sentence of their conversations with the word, “So”? Maybe it’s just my half-century-old ears playing tricks on me, or maybe it’s just because I’m that old that this is something I’m noticing – it’s tough to stay current with the hipsters and millennials, you know. I wasn’t cool even when I was young enough to be cool, and keeping up with trends in popular culture has never been my strong suit. So … as I was saying.

I began noticing this trend a couple of years ago when speaking with people younger than me. I’m not sure it’s part of teenage behavior right now, as much as the 20-somethings and millennials. All of a sudden, everyone who answers a question for you or tries to explain something begins their statement by saying, “So …” It often makes me laugh because I think back to other fads in modern slang and behavior, such as saying everything is cool, kosher or awesome, dude. Remember the 1980s Valley Girl fad? That’s when, like, everyone, like started inserting the word “like” into a sentence, like, for every other word.

It was, like, so gnarly.

I still catch myself doing this and want to slap myself silly every time.

I remember my dad correcting me as a teenager in a very amusing, kidding way by emulating me when I started engaging in using “like” too much in my conversation. When we would watch clips of people being interviewed, we would also always giggle and count the dozens of times that someone would mutter the phrase, “You know,” in between sentences to the interviewer or reporter. We would laugh and say, “No, I don’t know!” I still crack up when I hear people say that but often do it myself … especially in situations where I’m searching for words or filling time while I think about what I really want to say.

The “so” phenomenon really has me stumped. I wonder who started it and where and why? It seems to always happen when someone is answering a question such as, “Waiter, what is branzino?” Rather than answering with a simple statement, “Branzino is a Mediterranean fish,” you will hear, “So … branzino is a Mediterranean fish.” It’s not just me who has noticed this – I actually found articles on this annoying trend from the past few years from all over the United States and the U.K., including NPR and The New York Times. “So” has become the new “like” or “um.” So … I wonder how long until “so” becomes, like, soooo lame?

Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.