"or so"

[LanDi Liu]

I agree, with one additional point.  I think that the user of "or so"
has to use the phrase when they are unsure of the exact amount, so
while "approximately but at least" is preferred, due to the
uncertainty it could turn out to be less.

Randy

On Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 4:56 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      "or so"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In=A0my Standard Idiolect of English, the phrase "or so" means "approximate=
> ly but at least." So you could have knocked me down with a dodo feather whe=
> n I read the following:
> =A0
> 2008 Roberta Frank, "Afterword," in Burton Raffel, trans. _Beowulf_ (N.Y.: =
> Signet) 141:
> The vivid rendering of _Beowulf_ by Burton Raffel [published in 1963] has h=
> eld up well over the past half century or so."
> =A0
> I got news for you, Roberta Frank, Marie Borroff Professor of English at Ya=
> le University! 1963 is not fifty years ago "or so." It's forty-five years a=
> go and, by God, it's going to stay that way!
> =A0
> Does anybody here feel any different?
> =A0
> JL
> =A0
> =A0=0A=0A=0A
>
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--
Randy Alexander
Jilin City, China
My Manchu studies blog:
http://www.bjshengr.com/manchu

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