"People" who kick off with the word 'So'!

[PaulB]

It's more and more common to see or hear people begin their turn with the word 'so'. It infuriates me so much as it makes the speaker/writer appear an irredeemable, stuck-up-his/her-own-arse arrogant to55er. I automatically withdraw my interest in anything the person has to contribute to the discussion at hand.

I particularly liked this urban dictionary take on the whole palaver;
The first word of any answer given by a know-it-all douchebag, said to give the effect that they were already speaking when you asked your question or requested their opinion, in order to feign superiority or to imply that they knew what you wanted to know before you inquired.
Man: "What sort of food does that restaurant serve?"
Know-It-All Douche: "So, they have asian fusion and cali fresh, not that you would know what those things aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrre..."

Man: "Is that new game any good?"
Know-It-All Douche: "So, this game was developed on the new platform, not that you could understaaaaaaaaaaaaand it..."

 

[Spinney]

So what?

 

[Archie_tect]

Paul... do you write scripts for Reeves and Mortimer?.

 

[swee'pea99]

Friend of my mother's used to do that about 40 years ago. I don't think it was a claim of superiority, just a kind of verbal tic, but it used to drive me nuts for sure.

 

[PaulB]

Paul... do you write scripts for Reeves and Mortimer?.

No.

 

[welsh dragon]

So is on a par with innit. Innit

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I'd rather hear a 'so' than a 'douchebag'.

 

[Archie_tect]

No.

Good- can't stand Vic Reeves.

 

[ScotiaLass]

If my husband wants my input on a decision, I'll often come back with...' Well, ultimately...' It drives him mad.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Bloody so-and-sos!

 

[Peteaud]

Sew.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

In Glasgow they end sentences with "so"

 

[winjim]

Seamus Heaney discusses his translation of Beowulf:

Conventional renderings of hwæt, the first word of the poem, tend towards the archaic literary, with ‘lo’, ‘hark’, ‘behold’, ‘attend’ and – more colloquially – ‘listen’ being some of the solutions offered previously. But in Hiberno-English Scullion-speak, the particle ‘so’ came naturally to the rescue, because in that idiom ‘so’ operates as an expression that obliterates all previous discourse and narrative, and at the same time functions as an exclamation calling for immediate attention. So, ‘so’ it was:

So. The Spear-Danes in days gone byand the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns.​

 

[PaulB]

In Glasgow they end sentences with "so"

Nowt wrong with that or to use the word as part of a two-word answer such as 'So what?' It's when they begin with it implying they are talking down to the other person that particularly annoys me. Like they're saying, 'this is the definitive answer to your question/the debate at hand so look no further' which is so nauseating.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

It is spreading rapidly. When it's used well it signifies a degree of ordered thought is to follow. When used badly it doesn't do much more than indicate that it's the first word the speaker is going to use. It's still better than ''Basically...[enter waffle]....'' So far but it could end up being just as vacuous.

My German is so rickety that I'm not sure about this but can't they use ''Also'' (like ''Alors...'') in a similar setting out expression?