I have three phrases I’d like to discuss today, class. Since I like making up group names that I’ll immediately forget, I’ll call these phrases, “The Great Negators.” They’re not really that great, to be honest, but sometimes rhyming trumps accuracy.
First up, have you ever made a solid point to someone who disagrees with you only to have him/her reply with, “Yeah, but still”? I’ve grown to really like that phrase for a specific reason: at first, I thought it meant absolutely nothing and was just a place holder of sorts. But then I looked closer and realized that “Yeah, but still” actually meant, “I understand that you just made an argument, but it had no effect whatsoever on my original stance.” So now I like it.
“Yeah, but still” has a sibling phrase, don’t ya know? (No, it’s not “don’t ya know,” but thank you for playing.) Here it is: “I’m just sayin’.” Very similar in usage, but possibly an even Greater Negator because there’s no “but” or word that sounds at all like it’s refuting anything. Instead, it just tells the original speaker, “You may have some valid points in what you just said, but I’m not swayed in the slightest.” It’s probably short for, “Yeah, but I still think I’m right,” yet it doesn’t come across as nearly as haughty.
It’s gotten to the point that when someone says one of those two phrases, I find myself saying the other one. It gets a little confusing, but at least I know what I’m doing. And then I chuckle to myself.
I happen to find today’s third phrase fascinating. Tell me friends, has anyone ever said, “That’s all well and good” and actually meant that? You can hear the “but” just waiting to get in there and turn the phrase from a seemingly-agreeable one to something more challenging. In fact, leaving the phrase out there as “That’s all well and good” feels too incomplete to me, like I’m missing something until the “but” arrives. (Insert your own Jennifer Lopez joke here.) It’s like if someone were to say, “On the other hand…” and just stop there. Something needs to follow – though it could be almost anything. In the “well and good” example, we’re clearly waiting for the “but.” (Insert your own Marc Anthony joke here to bring it full circle.)
That’s it for me. Hopefully I’ve made clear enough cases that next time you hear a Great Negator, whether it be “Yeah, but still,” “I’m just sayin’,” or “That’s all well and good,” you think to yourself, “Hey, I read something about those phrases. What was that post about? Oh yeah, Jennifer Lopez.”