# What is the origin of the irritating habit of starting every reply with So,....? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 16, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775 "2021-09-16T19:47:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/1 "2021-09-16T19:47:09Z")
What is the origin of the irritating habit of starting every reply with So,…? I hear it among anchors a lot and now it seems just about everyone is doing it. Is is a Mid-Western regional phrase ? I’ve only started to notice it in the last year or so. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/2 "2021-09-16T20:08:44Z")
I don’t know where it comes from, but, in listening to the works of Robert Heinlein on audiobooks, I notice with a clarity that wasn’t evident when I read the books in print that Heinlein is addicted to the use of it. The frequency of sentences beginning with “So…” (and sometimes that’s the entire sentence right there) becomes evident, then annoying. Heinlein was a Midwesterner, born and raised in Missouri, so your conjecture might be correct. But he puts that initial and frequent “So…” into the mouths of characters from all over the world. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/3 "2021-09-16T20:09:30Z")
As a rule, I tend to end my sentences that way… So… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/4 "2021-09-16T20:14:00Z")
In spoken contexts, the plain intent of the word is surely to indicate continuity or agreement with the preceding statement - but I suppose it’s sort of trending at the moment and usage becomes a less meaningful mannerism - people learn habits from what they see and hear - the more it happens, the more it _will_ happen. In written contexts, the more Os appearing after the S\*, the more likely the person writing is simply an ass, and is misconstruing the thing they are responding to. \*e.g: ‘Soooooo… by your logic, I suppose it’s OK to boil kittens?’ ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/5 "2021-09-16T20:20:42Z")
The pattern I’m hearing starts with So…, for any reply. It simply makes no sense. If it were for asking questions for clarification I wouldn’t mind, but I’m not hearing it use that way. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/6 "2021-09-16T20:24:26Z")
If there’s no real utility for it being there, then it’s a mannerism or some such - a placeholder or a way to signify ‘I’m about to start talking now’ or a substitute for ‘ummm…’ or some such. Language isn’t logic. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/7 "2021-09-16T22:20:55Z")
Chaucer is to blame: > **[So, When Did We Start Introducing Sentences with So?](http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2015/09/start-introducing-sentences/)** > > Alli G. asks: Why do people today always start sentences with so? The word so has been in English pretty much as long as there has been English (derived from the Old English swæ). It is alternately an adverb (it’s so hot), a conjunction (eat your... So, why has it seemingly increased in popularity? The article blames Silicon Valley, which might even be true. It does seem to be more popular among immigrants. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/8 "2021-09-16T22:23:52Z")
I’m pretty sensitive to it, and have been for some time. If you start two consecutive sentences with “So…”, I get twitchy. As I recently posted in another thread, though, in my world, “I feel like…” is challenging “So…” for the crown of beginning-of-sentence annoyance. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/9 "2021-09-16T23:04:12Z")
The world changes around us. It’s only as we get older we start to really notice it happening, but I am pretty sure every generation experiences it and this will continue to happen. To younger people, the world was always the way it is now, and I think this drives the perception, in every generation as they age, that things have suddenly gone off the rails. These things are not an indication of the world has gone off the rails, they are a just what the world has always done. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/10 "2021-09-17T01:04:15Z")
When my brother was in college, and all my siblings and I were living with our parents, he had a story almost every day at dinner about some strange thing that had happened that day. One classmate in particular, “Joe”, was a rich source for stories (Joe became a very good friend whom we all met and liked immensely, but boy does he generate stories wherever he goes). My brother always started these stories by interjecting, “So…” and we’d all listen because a Joe story was in the offing. I think that ‘So…’ used this way does have semantic meaning. It indicates the introduction of a new thought. Which is really the opposite of the other meaning of, “I’m done saying the reasons, and now I’ll tell you the consequences”. It’s a very efficient way of saying, “hey everybody, listen to this”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/11 "2021-09-17T01:09:21Z")
Yes! And? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/12 "2021-09-17T02:40:22Z")
I’ve been hearing “So…” for a long time. The new-ish one is beginning sentences with “I mean…” This primarily happens when answering a question. ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/13 "2021-09-17T02:53:46Z")
Thanks Dr. Strangelove. ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/14 "2021-09-17T02:58:09Z")
The So…I’m hearing is more of a thoughtful pause followed by a story. What happened over there? So…We were … ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/15 "2021-09-17T04:00:31Z")
There are legitimate reasons for starting a reply with “so” if one is describing the consequence of something previously discussed – e.g, “So you’re leaving, then?” But it gets annoying when used as a meaningless auditory preamble, mostly because people who have that habit tend to do it to excess. I suspect the reason that people do it is to avoid the abruptness of launching directly into a reply without any sort of preamble at all. I once listened to an interview with an obviously intelligent young researcher who started literally every single response to every question with “So, …”. I felt like reaching into the radio and saying, “listen, bright young researcher, the word ‘so’ means ‘therefore’, and using it to start every single sentence is stupid!” ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/16 "2021-09-17T04:44:22Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > meaningless auditory preamble I’m not sure if that is a technical term, but it deserves to be. Having just listened to a conversation after reading this thread, its really no different to a throat clearance or an ‘umm’ that is declaring ‘I have something to say. Its my turn to talk’. Pretty sure that here [Australia] ‘umm’ was once generally the default, and I suspect its the case for Britain, where we get most of our vocal stylings. If so, ‘so’ probably came in as we’ve gotten more American so-and-so’s sewing their so’s. Help - SOS. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/17 "2021-09-17T07:23:27Z")
The Gryphon explains to Alice [why the whitings have their tails in their mouths](https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/1/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/20/chapter-x-the-lobster-quadrille/): > [@](#): > > The reason is,’ said the Gryphon, 'that they WOULD go with the lobsters to the dance. So they got thrown out to sea. So they had to fall a long way. So they got their tails fast in their mouths. So they couldn’t get them out again. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/18 "2021-09-17T11:26:11Z")
It doesn’t seem too prevalent here in the UK, I am listening to Radio 2, which intersperses interviews with music. The first interviewee was our new young tennis star Emma Raducanu, and neither she nor the interviewer used it to start once. There was also a remarkable absence of errs and ums. Subsequent interviewees, mainly professional commentators also eschewed the habit. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/19 "2021-09-17T11:45:24Z")
It seems to me that it is used as a place holder while the speaker gathers their thoughts. It is as annoying as starting a sentence with um and I tend to tune out when I hear it. Unless it is being used as a substitute for therefore. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775/20 "2021-09-17T12:38:11Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > It seems to me that it is used as a place holder while the speaker gathers their thoughts. This. Equivalent to “like”, “um”, etc. Totally unconscious on the part of the speaker. Way back when I was a grad student, I took a training class in how to be a better TA. One part was taking videos of each of us giving a short lecture - absolute everyone in the class was shocked that they had some sort of mannerism, most frequently “um” before sentences. By the time it came to my turn I was very conscious of avoiding “um” that I didn’t utter a single one. Of course I did wave my hands around a lot, which was hilarious when seen of fast forward… Back to “so”: I seem to recall a significant number of Germans using “also” at the beginning of sentences in a similar manner. OK, they were Bavarian and probably a bit drunk (it was at Oktoberfest) but still… And then there are those of us with the habit of ending written thoughts with ellipses… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-the-irritating-habit-of-starting-every-reply-with-so/950775.md?page=2)