"No, totally."

TerzaRima

Absinthe O'Malice
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
3,340
Reaction score
892
Location
the foulest in the land
New Yorker article on how we sometimes contradict ourselves with a word, and I thought you linguistic types might enjoy. I love the idea of Janus words or contranyms.
 

RichardGarfinkle

Nurture Phoenixes
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 2, 2012
Messages
11,138
Reaction score
3,082
Location
Walking the Underworld
Website
www.richardgarfinkle.com
That is in "no" way interesting. I.e. I'm quite intrigued. I had no idea about the yes/no/yea/nay thing. And I wonder if the author is correct about the slippage from know into no. 'Cause I don't know. But I know, right? No, totally.
 

CoffeeBeans

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,499
Reaction score
433
A friend of mine called this (both of us say it) to my attention a few years ago, but it's strange to see that it's so new.

Also, I got sent this today as well How to Say ‘Yes’ (by Not Saying ‘Yes’), so I guess it's a Yes and No kind of day!
 
Last edited:

Sage

Currently titleless
Staff member
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 15, 2005
Messages
64,561
Reaction score
22,363
Age
43
Location
Cheering you all on!
I say, "No, yeah" and "Yeah, no" all the time.
 

veinglory

volitare nequeo
Self-Ban
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
28,750
Reaction score
2,933
Location
right here
Website
www.veinglory.com
"No, definitely", seems common in the US, and "yes, nah" or "yeah, no" are routine in the UK and NZ. So it must serve a pretty universal function.
 

TerzaRima

Absinthe O'Malice
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
3,340
Reaction score
892
Location
the foulest in the land
I was trying to think of other contranymic words or figures of speech, and then I thought of, "(Astounding/joyous/scandalous item here), really?! Shut up!" IOW, go on and don't leave anything out.
 

chaneyk06

Coming up with a better title
Registered
Joined
Apr 11, 2015
Messages
30
Reaction score
2
Location
Oakland, CA
Does "classy" count? In its current usage, it almost always means the opposite. Does a permanent case of sarcasm change the meaning of the word?
 

mirandashell

Banned
Joined
Feb 7, 2010
Messages
16,197
Reaction score
1,889
Location
England
I think a lot of the time it's down to the tone of voice. So the meaning of classy hasn't changed in itself, just the way it's used.
 

chaneyk06

Coming up with a better title
Registered
Joined
Apr 11, 2015
Messages
30
Reaction score
2
Location
Oakland, CA
My favorite examples of 'no, totally' and its relatives are on the BBC shows Twenty Twelve and W1A. Absolutely epic levels of usage, until you want to smack your TV screen in the face.
 

mirandashell

Banned
Joined
Feb 7, 2010
Messages
16,197
Reaction score
1,889
Location
England
There it's used more as a sign of a brain in idle whilst the mouth is still moving.
 

Maxx

Got the hang of it, here
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
3,227
Reaction score
202
Location
Durham NC
Does "classy" count? In its current usage, it almost always means the opposite. Does a permanent case of sarcasm change the meaning of the word?

Wow! Classy is kind of a classic case of a word so dripping with sarcasm that it becomes an indicator of just plain final complete judgment on the part of the speaker and its meaning is sort of vaporized by its use.
 

chaneyk06

Coming up with a better title
Registered
Joined
Apr 11, 2015
Messages
30
Reaction score
2
Location
Oakland, CA
There must be a linguistic term for when a word or phrase is so completely taken over by sarcasm that it comes to mean its opposite. There is a term for a word going from a positive meaning to a negative one (like "awful") but specifically through a mode of behavior like sarcasm... wouldn't that be fascinating! (Not sarcastic)
 

Maxx

Got the hang of it, here
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
3,227
Reaction score
202
Location
Durham NC
There must be a linguistic term for when a word or phrase is so completely taken over by sarcasm that it comes to mean its opposite. There is a term for a word going from a positive meaning to a negative one (like "awful") but specifically through a mode of behavior like sarcasm... wouldn't that be fascinating! (Not sarcastic)

It would probably be described something like an in-group marker (idiom, idiomatic, idiolect), but what's interesting is that some things that are supposedly oh-so-in simply explode so that everyone is instantly in the in-group. And there's no avoiding it. You can't pretend you don't know what such things mean (I mean you can't make your self seem exclusive by pretending you don't understand sarcasm).
 
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
11,042
Reaction score
841
Location
Second star on the right and on 'til morning.
Website
atsiko.wordpress.com
I think the article is kinda confusing the lexical meaning with the meaning in context. "No, totally" at least, seems a pretty clear example of cutting words, rather than changing meaning. It's really more of a shortening of "I know it seems impossibly, but no it's not. It totally happened." "No, totally." Or like: "Bobby killed Ms. Sadoval!" "No, I'm not. He totally did."