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So, I've just discovered the most useless word in the English language.

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lobdale said:
Why did the chicken cross the road?

So Because, in performing this action, he was allowed an avenue through which to ambulate his body to the opposing section of land.


To get to the other side? When was so ever in the answer?

Nice sentence regardless.
 
xelios said:
Semicolons join sentences together too. Just sayin'.
I have something to tell you; I've just discovered the most useless punctuation mark in the English language.
 
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Exclamation-One said:
So be it = bring it.

GeorgeBlutheWhat?No.No.No.NONONONONONO.gif

Not even in an alternate universe would that be true.
 
Ultimoo said:
I have something to tell you; I've just discovered the most useless punctuation mark in the English language.

Does your contempt for it come from your inability to use it correctly?
 
I've been working on eliminating "So" from my vocabulary. If you also want to become a better public speaker read Cicero
 
Exclamation-One said:
Fine.

"So be it." = "Okay."

No, because the formality between the two is very different, and not all of their uses are shared!

"How was the party?"
"It was so be it."
 
Exclamation-One said:
So okay, it serves to soften what you are trying to say. I'm not saying the word should be banned, tarred, nor feathered. But if you want clear, concise and STRONG communication, it should be avoided.

"It's like adverbs that end with the letters 'L' and 'Y'," he said forcefully.

I'm serious. Show me a sentence that REQUIRES the use of 'so', and I'll accept a week ban.

so banned
 
Ultimoo said:
I have something to tell you; I've just discovered the most useless punctuation mark in the English language.

Semi-colons aren't useless, but this is a poor use of one. The relationship between these sentences is too direct to warrant the use of a semi-colon.

Nuances, people.
 
Joe Shlabotnik said:
Semi-colons aren't useless, but this is a poor use of one. The relationship between these sentences is too direct to warrant the use of a semi-colon.

Nuances, people.

I suppose you're right. "I have something to tell you" you doesn't really work as an independent clause. BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD.
 
Exclamation-One said:
"His penis was so big."
vs.
"His penis was BIG."

How on earth would you come up with that one?
Like, imma have to prove my point, yes that will do, everyone can relate to that.
hilarious :D
 
Exclamation-One said:
Fine.

"So be it." = "Okay."

"So be it." means you are accepting circumstances that don't necessarily work in your favor(at least that's what I've gleaned from the few times I've heard it in use).

"Okay" has multiple meanings, only one of which comes close to "So be it.".

It's still not the same thing, as "okay" has either positive or neutral connotations.

"So be it.", on the other hand, has generally negative connotations.
 
SapientWolf said:
I think inflammable holds that crown now.

SapientWolf thought he was so inflammable that he lit himself on fire. Unfortunately... SaptientWolf was NOT inflammable and was, in fact, flammable.

I think "was no inflammable" is a double-negative and means you really are. I SUCK AT THE ENGLISH GRAMMAR RULES
 
Esoteric words used only in highly specialized fields of medicine and chemistry are probably more useless.
 
Thread titles that start with "So" are definitely a pet peeve of mine.

"So, I saw something today..."
"So, I finally played xxxx"
"So, how about that movie"

Blah blah blah. Use some originality or put some detail into your thread title.
 
gerg said:
Actually, as an aside, I've recently begun to wonder whether in English, apart from words that merely indicate a very wide and very basic "yah" or "boo" response, there actually do exist true synonyms (as in, a word that could be replaced by another with no loss of meaning at all).

If you over analyze it, you'll find that true synonyms are paradoxical by nature.

I mean... if sounds alone can change some of the underlying meaning and association of a word *- then every synonym will be necessity have slight variances on the underlying meaning and associations just through the differences in sounds.

*i.e. a word can sound softer, harder, more complex to say, more masculine, more feminine, similar sounding to some other words - and by extension make them more usable in some contexts and not others.
 
Umm...Your penis is so big sounds better than your penis is big.

If a girl says to me your penis is big, I know she's a liar. If she says your penis is so big, I know she must be a virgin or a bad liar.

Switching roles. If you hear me tell a girl your boobs are big it means I've come to terms with the fact you are really a b cup and not the d cup you and your victoria secret push up bra led me to believe for the first month we dated. Your boobs are so big means I'm actually shocked you don't own a push up bra and your boobs are as big as advertised.
 
JJDinomite said:
If you say so.

well, if that's what you think.



hey OP, (had to stop myself from typing 'so' there) how do you feel about the word very? so is just a much more flexible version of that
 
"So many people eat dicks"

"Many people eat dicks"

The latter is a statement that severely limits your transition into another sentence and affects rhythm.

"So many people eat dicks...that it creates tension around the dinner table" Smooth and effortless.
 
The worst offence is this:

"In my personal opinion, I think that blahblahblah"

NO. You don't need to say "In my person opinion". If you say "I think xx" then of course it is your opinion, which is personal.
 
TheSeks said:
SapientWolf thought he was so inflammable that he lit himself on fire. Unfortunately... SaptientWolf was NOT inflammable and was, in fact, flammable.

I think "was no inflammable" is a double-negative and means you really are. I SUCK AT THE ENGLISH GRAMMAR RULES
Inflammable is a synonym for flammable. See what I mean.
 
Neuromancer said:
I think the idea of the our society pruning out all the unnecessary words is a great idea.

Wait a minute...

poster_1984_lrg.jpg

Not the greatest example, since Orwell was in favor of a similar type of language pruning.

Not that I agree with the OP, and I don't think the word 'so' would be one of the words Orwell would take issue with, it is one of the super common words of anglo-saxon origin that form the backbone of the english language, which are exactly the types of words he preferred. Orwell's issue was more with the romance/latinate loanwords that get abused in euphemistic and obfuscatory way.

I'm very much in the camp of people who think that language is always evolving, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for serious thought about the usage of language. The word 'so' is such an old and useful word for everyday conversation that it really needs no defense. Even if it's usage is a bit loose.
 
Zaptruder said:
If you over analyze it, you'll find that true synonyms are paradoxical by nature.

I mean... if sounds alone can change some of the underlying meaning and association of a word *- then every synonym will be necessity have slight variances on the underlying meaning and associations just through the differences in sounds.

*i.e. a word can sound softer, harder, more complex to say, more masculine, more feminine, similar sounding to some other words - and by extension make them more usable in some contexts and not others.

I'm not sure quite what I was going at. I was thinking more of register and formality. I'm also not sure that you'd be correct in calling these instances a "paradox".
 
Exclamation-One said:
I'm serious. Show me a sentence that REQUIRES the use of 'so', and I'll accept a week ban.

Ok.

Show me a sentence that REQUIRES the use of 'so', and I'll accept a week ban.
^ The meaning of this sentence could not be communicated without the use of the word 'so' in it, therefore, it requires it.
 
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