[Ads-l] Self-deprecating Gen-Z "Not me..."

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

It is sometimes difficult for me to know whether a person is being
self-deprecating.

[Begin excerpt]
https://twitter.com/davidbadash/status/956094071
David Badash @davidbadash
@ezrabutler OK. Confession: I cried. Totally hadn't expected to.
Highly recommend it. Have you seen it? (Billy Elliot. Not me crying.)
10:29 PM · Oct 11, 2008
[End excerpt]

[Begin excerpt]
https://twitter.com/brianwurzell/status/1269654917
Brian Wurzell @brianwurzell
Up and at it. Sundays are exhausting on the body. Heading out for a
run just to make sure it's Sundays and not me being super out of
shape.
10:50 AM · Mar 2, 2009
[End excerpt]

[Begin excerpt]
https://twitter.com/omgitsclaire91/status/2224344596
Claire Walsh @omgitsclaire91
that's me quoting m. ward by the way- not me being emo because i don't
have a boy friend.
12:23 PM · Jun 18, 2009
[End excerpt]

[Begin excerpt]
https://twitter.com/DeJLoaf/status/513755814926880769
Who Dis Woman? @DeJLoaf
Wanna Be Apart of History. Fuck With Me!

And That's Not Me Being Cocky. That's Me Being Confident.
2:25 PM · Sep 21, 2014
[End excerpt]

[Begin excerpt]
https://twitter.com/KellyCollin_/status/1651699411158814723?s=20
Kelly Collins @KellyCollin_
Not me being stupidly happy to be allowed to drink wine again 😂
5:26 PM · Apr 27, 2023
[End excerpt]


[Begin excerpt]
https://twitter.com/daissiesun/status/1652655969523073025?s=20
kerl. ✨ @daissiesun
HI GOD ITS ME AGAIN NOT ME BEING GREEDY BUT PLEASE MAKE THEM HAVE AN
OFFICIAL DUET SONG NO IM SO HAPPY WITH CHAN CHOP TUA ENG WELA TI YU
KAP TER DUET BUT IF WE CAN MAKE IT OFFICIAL??? I WILL FAINT FIRST THEN
CHERISH THE MOMENT FOREVERRR

#KonnecConxBillkin
8:47 AM · Apr 30, 2023
[End excerpt]

On Sun, Apr 30, 2023 at 3:53 PM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> A student here is investigating the apparently Gen Z construction “Not me” + gerund.  I see from googling sites like https://stayhipp.com/glossary/what-does-not-me-mean-on-social-media/ <https://stayhipp.com/glossary/what-does-not-me-mean-on-social-media/> that “not me” is a meme on its own, without the following gerund, with the attribution to “Gen-Z” and the observation that it is "used by an individual to poke fun at their own embarrassing, toxic, or self-absorbed behavior”
>
> The student is looking at examples he’s observed with gerunds, as in “Not me being lazy”, and I see TikTok illustrations of “Not me being goofy”. Apparently “not y’all” exists too.  Is there any literature on this, or speculation on its origin?
>
> LH
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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