Recently I posted about a word in Spanish that means eyes half-opened/closed other than entreabiertos. So maybe today I’ll look for it. I know it’s underlined in one of a couple of books I’ve read recently and I just have to scan for it. When I find it, it may turn out to be something other than I thought. That happens to me, even in English. So stay tuned.
Then the English word I was thinking of is one that has gained currency recently and has been written about: “so”. It is used frequently in the sense of stating a conclusion from or summary of what has gone before and indicating a further course of action.
“So, in discussing the Tea Party……..” “So, having said that, we must……..” “So in answer to your question…….” “So we need to go to the store today………”
Ones like the last one often come out of the blue, as if the interlocutor has been privy to an internal conversation on the part of the person announcing “so”. The classic is, “So, what d’ya think?” when nothing has been said.