so = 'absolutely; utterly; such'

[Arnold Zwicky]

On Dec 9, 2011, at 8:48 AM, Ben Zimmer wrote:
>
>
> I think I see JL's point now. When preceding a predicate NP introduced
> by an article (as opposed to "not..."), new-style "so" might sound
> odder than usual, in a spot where one might expect emphatic "such"
> instead: "Today is *such* a cuddle day." Perhaps the
> microsyntacticians at Yale can figure out if that variety of "so" is
> less favored than others. Compare:
>
> "I am so a drama queen" (1,210 ghits)
> "I am such a drama queen" (55,600 ghits)

some examples:

  Got Faith? this is so a sign I'm marrying Tim Tebow?
  So today I went to help at my church so we can get ready for thanksgiving and the lady said the only volunteer badge I have left is #15 -even God is letting me get his [Tim Tebow's] number -my mom was like God is trying to tell you to marry him -I think I better go get a wedding dress and can't wait to hear those wedding bells :)
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111114183633AAJztxh

  Popeye is SO a Capricorn!
  He made his entry into a pre-existing (for ten years) cartoon on January 17 1929, playing a bit part. But – tres Capricorn- he was so successful that he became the star & driving force of the whole thing.
http://mysticmedusa.com/2009/07/popeye-is-so-a-cap/

  I love this song! This is so a rosalie song
http://www.metrolyrics.com/keeps-gettin-better-lyrics-christina-aguilera.html

(you need to consider the context carefully, to be sure that the _so_ isn't the Rejoinder Emphasis _so_ (what the Yale file calls "contradictory _so_"), emphatically asserting something in response to someone's denial of it.)

the gloss 'definitely' or 'so (very) much' works pretty well here, while 'such' doesn't strike me as quite right.

in any case, GenX (or Drama) _so_ can modify indefinite predicating Ns, but the examples don't seem to be very frequent.

arnold

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