I’m All Set

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, Grant. Hi, Martha. This is Frank Kaliva calling from Washington, D.C.

Howdy, Frank. Welcome to the program.

Thank you. Great to be here.

What’s cooking in Washington, D.C.?

Well, a lot’s going on.

Are you straightening out the government for us?

Well, trying to, a little bit at a time, at least.

Okay. All right.

Thank goodness.

Well, how can we straighten out things in your world?

I’m a Yankee transplant down here. I’m originally from Syracuse, New York, and went to college in Rhode Island,

And I moved down here for grad school a few years back.

And I noticed when I was going out to restaurants in particular that I was getting really confused looks from busboys and servers at the end of meals.

And I wasn’t really sure why.

And then finally, a friend who happened to be from Texas that I was out with one night mentioned that I was saying a very confusing thing when the server would come over and ask if I was finished.

I would say, I’m all set, which I thought indicated that I’m done with my meal.

You know, you can take the plate away.

And I finally talked to other friends in D.C. Or from all around the country and realized that this is something apparently peculiar, at least in my experience, to the Northeast.

And it’s also even stranger, I guess, because I realize other people will say I’m all set to mean, well, no, I don’t need anything.

Or maybe if someone asked you if you wanted a cup of coffee, you might say, no, thanks, I’m all set.

But I sort of have this secondary meaning that’s common up in Syracuse, at least, which is, you know, I’m all set, meaning, you know, please go ahead and take it away.

So I guess my question is, you know, what’s the origin of this phrase?

And am I right that it’s a kind of northeastern sort of thing?

Interesting. I can see the area of confusion there.

They weren’t quite sure what you were all set for.

Were you all set to continue your meal or all set for the plate to be taken?

Exactly, exactly.

Interesting.

Oh, wow. I never really thought about that.

They talk funny in Syracuse anyway.

I yell Yankees.

And I love how you say down there because D.C. Is definitely the south,

But so often it doesn’t behave like the south.

And matters of language, it’s definitely more southern, isn’t it?

They say that it’s a southern efficiency and northern charm in D.C.

Right.

I guess maybe that applies to language as well.

I like that.

Yeah, I’m trying to think what I would say if Grant came to my table

And he was the server.

Excuse me, madam, are you all finished?

Yeah, I would say.

Can I take your plate?

I would say yes to those.

You would.

But I think I would say I’m fine, or I might actually say I’m good.

I’m good.

Yeah, to me, if I was your server, I wouldn’t take your plate.

You wouldn’t.

No, I absolutely would not take your plate.

If I said…

Because you were fine as you are, which is at the table with your plate.

But if I said I’m all set, would you take it away?

No.

No, I wouldn’t.

Okay.

And Frank, when you’re telling somebody you’re all set, you mean…

It means take it, like, it means I’m finished, so I’m all set.

Oh.

Interesting.

And in Syracuse servers often, I’ve noticed that going back home to Syracuse, a server will often come over and say, are you all set with that?

Meaning, can I take it away from you?

So it works on both ends.

Sure, sure.

But it’s a natural extension of all set.

Well, set as an adjective in English has long had the meaning of ready or prepared or at a point where something can begin.

Right.

Right?

And so it’s just like one more step beyond that where it’s kind of understood that what is set is for the next stage to happen and the next stage is to take the plate.

And does this happen outside of the restaurant world?

I mean, if you’re, let’s say that you’re, I don’t know, you’re at the workplace and somebody comes to your desk and says, do you need any more paper?

And you don’t need more paper.

Would you say, I’m all set, meaning don’t give me more paper?

I would.

Yeah, that’s right.

Yeah.

It seems like in this one particular restaurant context,

It almost means the opposite of what it means in other contexts.

Interesting.

Oh, wow.

I love this stuff.

But it is standard English, right, Martha?

I see this in a couple of dictionaries.

It’s in the Cambridge Dictionaries,

And the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms actually has an entry for it.

Yeah?

Yeah.

This says ready, in a position for some action,

As in I’m all set to leave the country.

But that’s slightly different.

What is?

It’s you’re prepared.

You’re prepared for something.

Well, yeah.

I guess it depends on what you’re prepared for, though.

So, Frank, when you go back home, you don’t have this problem at all.

But if you go to the south or the west, you have this problem.

That’s what you’re saying?

Absolutely, yes.

How interesting.

Well, maybe we should add another line to that saying, northern charm, southern efficiency, and the baffle gab of both.

I think that could be the name of our show, the baffle gab of both.

Frank, I think what we’re saying is we’re not sure if it’s regional or not, but your data suggests that it is.

Yeah.

Well, I guess this may be one that we have to put out to folks listening out there.

Does this sound wrong to you?

Let us know in email to words@waywordradio.org.

Or if you use it yourself, give us a call and tell us why and what kind of reactions you get.

877-929-9673.

Well, terrific.

I can’t wait to hear what other people say.

Thanks very much.

Thanks, Frank.

Thanks a lot, Frank.

Bye-bye.

Bye.