Don’t abuse the conjunction “so”

Many Americans abuse the conjunction so. For example, they use it at the beginning of a response to a question:

Interviewer: Let’s go on to another topic: broad-base tax vs. single tax. What is your position?

Interviewee: So broad-base is fairer and is more conducive to community prosperity.

Analysis

The interviewee is insinuating that he has already presented, or at least mentioned, the evidence on which he bases his position. He resorts to insinuation because he knows that a direct statement would sound ridiculous to the interviewer and to intelligent members of the audience:

Interviewer: Let’s go on to another topic: broad-base tax vs. single tax. What is your position?

Interviewee: That’s why I believe that broad-base is fairer and is more conducive to community prosperity.

In 2012, this usage began to spread rapidly; now you hear it almost every day. It annoys intelligent listeners and makes them suspicious of the speaker's honesty.

The Takeaway: Using the conjunction so to insinuate that you have presented or mentioned evidence is a childish trick. If you wish to be taken seriously by intelligent adults, try to avoid imitating this puerile nonsense.

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