When did ‘so’ become the new ‘ummm’? Listen to any TV or cable talk show when the host asks the guest a question. Most of the guests start the answer with ‘So … ‘. Perhaps a little less annoying than ‘umm’, but this vocalized pause gets old fast if each answer begins that way. While ‘so’ is an actual word, it doesn’t add any meaning or context to the message. It just sits there … like a different version of ‘Um … ‘
