Well, I mean, good
grief and holey socks, where did “well, I mean” spring from? On a racing news
program a few days ago, an interviewer asked a race car driver what it meant to
miss out on the championship. The driver began with “Well, I mean, …” It wasn’t the first time I’d heard someone
begin their answer with “Well, I mean…” He hadn’t yet said anything that needed
further explanation or qualification. I’ve even heard one or two start off with
“Yes, no, well I mean…” Why do so many
interviewees start their reply as though they’d already given an
answer?
Not every interviewee on the planet starts off with this
strange qualification, but there are enough of them to notice a trend, and to
have it really annoy me.
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