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I'm hearing teens say this all the time and it's something that "my" generation (I'm 32) never said. Is that even allowed? It makes the hair on my arms go up every time I hear it.
For example,
Teen 1 - "I think John totally has the hots for you and you should sooooo go out with him."
Teen 2 - "Shut up! He totally like not my type."
Teen 1 - "I'm just saying!"
*shiver*
I kinda like "I'm just saying!". It's a more casual way of saying "That is just one man's/woman's opinion". It's a little humorous and can be used to soften the blow of a harsh critique.
I actually don't hear it getting used in the way your example describes. THAT usage might annoy me!
P.S.
I say it and I am older than EekA!
I'm 29, and it doesn't strike me as odd at all to just clip it at "I'm just saying" without actually adding/restating your position. I take it sort of in a colloquial sense, dropping off the rest in a way of implying the rest of the phrase is self-apparent. As maybe one would say, "I'm not saying Mary is crazy, but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..." and leave it open to let the listener fill that in.
But I will say that there does seem to be a new trend of clipping off the ends of known phrases, which is beyond irritating to me: "they just did the whole nine," with no mention of "yards"; "he got mad out of the clear blue," with no "sky."
This phrase irritates me to no end. (I'm 33, if that matters.) I think what irritates me the most is its imprecision. It tells you nothing. It clarifies nothing. Whenever someone says it to me, I want to reply, "Well, I heard what you said the first time. I'm not deaf. Did you want to add something to it or clarify it in some way? If not, why are you wasting the effort to tell me you were saying something, when I just heard you say it?!"
It's similar to my distaste for the word "nice," also because of its imprecision. (A distaste I share with that great lover of language, George Carlin.) However, "nice" at least conveys the extremely vague meaning that something is not too unpleasant. This phrase, though, is COMPLETELY useless!
George Carlin? Great lover of language? Excuse me?
aj318, I think you hit the nail on the head. It's largely about ellipsis, implicature, and economy (of words). You probably wouldn't use it around someone who is slightly unfamiliar with the English language, its usage, and its idioms. But, why say more than you have to?
As for the clipped English that's popping up here and there, I think it depends on how much is clipped off. If it's too much, people may grimace. If it's merely the last word (in a set expression), people may think you have something suddenly stuck in your throat.
“he got mad out of the clear blue”
That sounds almost like Cockney rhyming slang (one of the forms I least like); where “sky”, here being elided, rhymes with the word being implied.
Another phrase to use to show that you are “hip” is: “I mean.”
e.g., Ohmuhggaw, look at her hair! I mean!
What do you mean? Do you like it? Do you dislike it?
Finally (for the time being), one phrase that drove me batty as a kid was: “What is your damage?” Bah, just say what you mean and don't be such a poser!
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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