Home » Dictionary » Ja well no fine

Ja well no fine

Ja well no fine
 other.— «Consider the local expression, “Ja, well, no fine.”….Is it one word? Does it have commas? Even the Dictionary of South African English stumbles: “to explain this to a non-South African is a challenge.” A few years ago, the former radio broadcaster RJB Wilson, who coined the expression back in 1978, tried to explain it. “My youngest brother,” he wrote, “was in the habit of saying ‘no fine’ to everything that really required a ‘c’est la vie’ or ‘that’s the way the cookie crumbles.’ It had a nice South African feel to it. I added ‘Ja, well…’ to it to reinforce the South Africanism.”» —“Letter from South Africa: Blend of Languages Hard to Digest” by Kurt Shillinger in Johannesburg, South Africa Boston Globe Oct. 22, 2000. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Will You? Won’t You? Can’t I Coax You?

Suzanne in Tucson, Arizona, says her mother used to say the following to her quickly: Will you? Won’t you? Can’t I coax you? Aw, c’mon! You said you would! You think you might? You promised me! Won’t your mama let ya, huh...

Love Bites (episode #1569)

The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear...