2097.3.3 The Function of the Forms in Present- Day English
( I’m) just saying has recently been added to the OED (s.v. say , v.^1 and int.,
def. P10f), where it is said to be “used to indicate that a previous statement or
assertion is not intended to be combative or provoking, or should not be taken
too personally or seriously. Also simply just saying , only saying .”^18 While it
has otherwise received little attention in printed sources (see, however, Kisling
2011; Lee- Goldman 2011 ), it has been the subject of much online discussion
(see American Dialect Society, email listserv 1999– 2006; PainintheEnglish.
com 2006– 2014; Leo 2009 ; Simon 2010 ; Liberman 2012 ; Margolies 2012 ;
O’Connor and Kellerman 2013 ; Urban dictionary ).^19 In a sampling of online
comments I’m just saying is said to be:
- “a phrase used to signify that the previous comment one made was not intended to
cause annoyance, but was simply a statement of personal opinion or an observation that
the stater doesn’t care enough to fi ght over”
Urban dictionary , def. 3 - a phrase used “so as to not offend anyone, or to place emphasis on the fact that it is an
opinion being stated ... a sort of defl ection of rebuttals before they happen”
http:// painintheenglish.com/ case/ 958/ #comment- 6082 - an expression which “[u] sed effectively, ... allows one to say something bold or raise an
uncomfortable question while assuring the listener that one does not mean to offend or
pick a fi ght. In a more subtle usage, one tags this phrase to the end of a sentence in order
to alert the listener that one has in fact said something controversial (‘fi ghting words’),
which might not have been evident from the statement alone”
http:// painintheenglish.com/ case/ 958/ #comment- 12142 - “a free pass for the speaker to say anything and then negate any ill intent.” Both speaker
and hearer are supposed to pretend that “ ‘I’m just saying’ magically neutralizes any
negative reaction ... no one can hold the speaker accountable.”
Margolies 2012
Winnowing down the online discussions, we conclude that I’m just saying typi-
cally follows a statement which was either intentionally insulting or controversial
or unintentionally caused offense to the hearer. The speaker wishes to distance
truth/ reality/ issue is, is. The fi rst example appears in 1832 in COHA: The reason is, is , that B
could not know what limits A had set to his unlawful design. (Oliver, The rights of an American
citizen ).
18 The OED suggests that the past- tense form, I was just saying , is the standard form, with I’m
just saying being an alternative. This does not agree with corpus evidence.
19 Interestingly, a blog entry on the “annoying” word whatever uses just sayin’ , perhaps to sug-
gest that this expression is equally annoying: http:// maristpoll.marist.edu/ 1227- whatever- still-
viewed- as- most- annoying- word- or- phrase- just- sayin/. See Chapter 9 on whatever.
7.3 (I’m) Just Saying and Related Comment Clauses