"not so much"

[Ronald Butters]

I don't see how this is a matter for dialectologists. But its rising trajectory is certainly a matter of American Speech, and JL's notice here strikes me as a worthy reminder that we now have a virtual epidemic.

On Dec 13, 2010, at 6:55 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> I don't understand what you don't understand.
>
> This is a recent usage (maybe two usages) that has gone unnoticed by
> lexicographers or dialectologists.
>
> Good enough for me.
>
> JL
> On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 6:09 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "not so much"
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> I am not sure I understand. The saying has been popular since Paul Reiser
>> used it often in his sit-com "Mad About You" in the 90s.
>>
>> More recently, both Borat and Jon Stewart have used it.
>>
>> DanG
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 5:55 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
>>> wrote:
>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>>> Subject:      "not so much"
>>>
>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> I've been hearing this interjection almost daily on TV news for two or
>>> three
>>> years.  Literally it means either "not very much" (e.g., "Did you like
>> X?"
>>> "Not so much.") or else, to emphasize a specific contrast, "not as much"
>>> (e.g., "A dog will guard your house; a cat [pause for effect] not so
>> much."
>>>
>>> For some people it is now on its way to becoming "definitely not" or even
>>> a simple "no."  This morning a CNN anchor reported on Vladimir Putin's
>>> singing debut. After a clip of his less-than-smash performance, she
>> simply
>>> said, "Not so much" in descending tones that made it clear she *did not*
>>> mean, "Not so much singing, Vlad! It's awful!"
>>>
>>> And this, from
>>>
>>>
>> http://omg.yahoo.com/news/kate-gosselin-sarah-palin-had-zero-chemistry-on-terrible-trip/52017?nc
>>> :
>>>
>>> "Did fellow lightning-rod gals Kate Gosselin and Sarah Palin become BFFs
>>> while camping in Alaska for Palin's TLC show? Not so much!"
>>>
>>> It reminds me of the advent of "totally" in the late '70s.  It started
>>> slowly and in contexts that were barely distinguishable from standard
>> usage
>>> (see esp. _Halloween_, the source that brought it to my attention).  Soon
>>> it was displacing "definitely."
>>>
>>> JL
>>> --
>>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>> truth."
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org