Sep 242009
I just came across some lovely illustrations of how the filler ‘sort of’ adds meaning. (Thanks, Tom!) It’s a quote from the comedian Demetri Martin:
‘Sort of’ is such a harmless thing to say. ‘Sort of’. It’s just a filler. ‘Sort of’ – it doesn’t really mean anything. But after certain things, ‘sort of’ means everything.
Like after ‘I love you’
or ‘You’re going to live’
or ‘It’s a boy!’
To see Demetri deliver it – see three minutes into this video…
Loved the video! Thanks very much for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it. There’s another one here:
This stuff is fantastic – thanks for the heads up.
Thank YOU for stopping by Tony.
I showed that to my son, he laughed and laughed.
me too.
thnx
Funny! Needed that 😉 although I do wonder what it’s a boy, sort of… would be exactly.
K
Karenne – I wondered that too. You gotta love ambiguity!
It’s sort of been a long time since you posted – everything ok?
Oh thanks for asking, Chris. Yes, I’m fine – just been a bit snowed under with other writing of late. New posting is now up and looking forward to checking in on blogosphere happenings too.
Great video! And a fantastic illustration of how much more there is to a filler. Love his humour.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Kati. Great to meet you.