200 Forms of Say
(6) a. The Secretarie told him, that the Marquesse Sforce was to goe to the Court
of Ferdinand, and before his departure he was come to kisse his hands, and
would know his pleasure if he would commaund him any seruice: that being
said , he put into his hands the letters and patents (aforesaid) to seale them.
(1600 Fumée, The historie of troubles of Hungarie [EEBO])
In the examples in (5) and (6) that/ this being said expresses temporal/ sequen-
tial meaning: it occurs in a narrative sequence of events, often following direct
quotation. There may be reference to the act of speaking (see 5c).
The earliest instances of that/ this being said with concessive meaning that
I have found in my corpora date from the late nineteenth/ early twentieth century:
(7) a. The story of Sir James Douglas might have been told in smaller compass
... That being said , James Douglas certainly deserved a place among the
makers of Canada. (1908 Manitoba Morning Free Press (Electronic text) 1
Aug. [OED])
b. A woman had better have only a present. That being said , in general, it
seems that the lover would do well to reveal a few trifl es, (1923 Harpers
[COHA])
(8) a. then comes the moralizing and preaching about “Wall- street tricks * and the
wicked ways of the speculators. This being said , it remains to point out cer-
tain trickery practice in the buying and selling of securities of which the pub-
lic has a just right to complain.” (1882 North American Review [COHA])
b. Nature can not possibly be routed, except by a fl ank movement. This being
said , let it not be imagined that all who are mothers of marriageable sons
are on guard lest their sons fall in love. (1905 Sangster, Radiant motherhood
[COHA])
In these examples that/ this being said is used in the course of an ongoing argu-
ment, not as part of a narrative sequence, and has the meaning ‘nevertheless,
however.’
7.2.3.3 Development of That/ This Said. Embryonic forms of that/
this said occur in Middle English, all with temporal meaning (see Visser
1972 : 1264– 1265):
(9) a. And these wordes sayd , she streyght her on length and rested a whyle
(1387– 88 T. Usk, Test. Love II , xiv (Skeat) 99 [Visser 1972 : 1264])
‘And these words said, she straightened herself out in length and rested
a while’
b. this thus seid and sungun fro the clerkis ... the preestis and peple fi llen
doun kneling (1449 Pecock, Repressor 204, 4 [Visser 1972 : 1265])
‘this thus said and sung by the clerks ... the priests and people fell down
kneeling’