Yeah...No...

I have noticed a new phrase that is slowly seeping into our language. That phrase is as follows: Yeah..no...blah blah blah. Think I'm crazy? Listen for it, and you'll be amazed at a) how often you hear it and b) how often you find the words "yeah...no..." coming out of your very own mouth. I'm no Samuel Johnson, but the lexicographer in me approximates the meaning of "yeah...no..." as "I'm not sure if you understood me, so let me reiterate my point." I find that one says this curious (and inherently contradictory) phrase most often when confronted with an imperfect (so one thinks) response to/summarization of an idea that one has expostulated. While you may be bored to weeping by conjectures on spontaneous language formation, I find it fascinating. And it's my blog, so there.

"So you like language?"

"Yeah, no, I just like how little phrases just sprout from the ether. I don't think anyone sat down and decided that they were going to say 'yeah...no...,' it just happened. I say it myself sometimes; I certainly didn't ever plan on it."