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

[Dan Goncharoff]

I always consider the initial 'no' as meaning "I don't agree (yet)", which
is why it can be followed by a 'yes' -- in the time it takes to say 'no'
the brain gets to 'yes'.

DanG

On Wed, May 4, 2016 at 4:10 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
wrote:

> > 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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>

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