[Ads-l] No = 'yes; truly'

Laurence Horn laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Wed May 4 20:10:43 UTC 2016


> On May 4, 2016, at 3:41 PM, Chris Waigl <chris at LASCRIBE.NET> wrote:
> 
> On Wed, May 4, 2016 at 8:18 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> ME: Putin has already endorsed him.
>> 
>> CHICAGO ATTORNEY:  No, no, they'll be compadres.
>> 
>> It was clear to me that "compadres" emphasized what I'd said and didn't
>> contradict it.
>> 
>> In fact, the same speaker used the "No!" idiom a number of times. This was
>> the easiest to remember, though.
>> 
> 
> ​I've just had this sort of thing happen several times during a stay in
> Boston. Example: I've arrived at the airport and am making my way to the
> public transport exit. There's an automatic ticket dispenser, but I'm not
> sure about the correct options. There's also an information desk right next
> to it. This was our approximate exchange:
> 
> Information person: How are you getting into town?
> Me: I'd like to take the tram. Blue line.
> IP: You leave through THIS door and then turn left. Shuttle 55.
> Me: Do I need a shuttle ticket?
> ​IP: It's complimentary.
> Me, pointing to the ticket machine: Can I buy tickets there or do I have to
> buy them here?
> IP: You can get your ticket here.
> Me: I understand that, but I wonder if there'll be another opportunity for
> me to buy tickets at the other end.
> IP: No, no, no, no, NO! You can buy tickets at the transit station.
> 
> (This seemed to be a native speaker, BTW, but with quite a lot of verbal
> ticks and big gestures.)
> 
No = 'Don't worry'?  (Or "No worries", with "worries" deleted?)

LH

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