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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010Sorted (out)
My employer has offices in the UK and elsewhere, as well as the US office where I work. Often someone in the UK will let me know that a problem has been solved, and they say the problem (or the customer) has been "sorted". I would never say that, but would say the problem (NOT the customer) has been "sorted out". Is this a Pondian distinction? To add to the variations, a fellow in our Australian office said that he would say "sorted!" to a peer but that a superior would say "sort this out" to a subordinate. In other words, the phrasal verb had a little bit of a formal or authoritarian tone to it.  SignatureStan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA http://OakRoadSystems.com Shikata ga nai... > My employer has offices in the UK and elsewhere, as well as the US > office where I work. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Is this a Pondian distinction? 'Sorted' is fairly recent (Cassells Dic of Slang says 80s) UK slang for something or someone that has been dealt with satisfactorily. Of course, in its earlier incarnation it usually had, as you say, 'out' but it's now the fashion to omit that. For accompaniment to your reading the rest of the posts in this thread, may I offer Pulp singing "Sorted for Es and Wizz"? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIaehhYLVZA SignatureJohn Dean Oxford >> My employer has offices in the UK and elsewhere, as well as the US >> office where I work. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >I offer Pulp singing "Sorted for Es and Wizz"? >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIaehhYLVZA Yes. I think that I've preciously given the example of a conversation I overheard in a hospital a couple of years ago. A senior doctor (consultant physician[1] with acolytes) was doing his rounds of the ward. I overheard a discussion about one patient's condition. A more junior doctor mentioned something in addition to the primary condition. The consultant said "We can sort that". This was notable only because judging by accent and appearance the consultant was not a native English speaker. His appearance was what in Britspeak we would call oriental. Usages such as "I'll sort that" and the instruction "Sort that as soon a possible" with "sort" meaning "sort out" are completely idiomatic in BrE. [1] Consultant: in a hospital, the principal physician or surgeon supervising a patient's care. In AmE "Attending". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consultant_%28medicine%29 SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >Yes. I think that I've preciously given the example of a conversation I Good grief! "c" is next to "v" on this keyboard. Make that "previously". SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >> Yes. I think that I've preciously given the example of a >> conversation I > > Good grief! "c" is next to "v" on this keyboard. Make that > "previously". Aha! Les prévieuses ridicules. SignatureJohn Dean Oxford >> Yes. I think that I've preciously given the example of a conversation I > > Good grief! "c" is next to "v" on this keyboard. Make that "previously". So no nice rings were involved. SignatureRob Bannister > 'Sorted' is fairly recent (Cassells Dic of Slang says 80s) UK slang for > something or someone that has been dealt with satisfactorily. Of course, in > its earlier incarnation it usually had, as you say, 'out' but it's now the > fashion to omit that. "I've sorted you a nice little Cortina, Terry" was heard from Arthur in the TV show "Minder" in the early Eighties, but I began to notice the modern problem-solving "sorted" being used at work around the middle Nineties where I would have previously expected "sorted out". However, it has probably been around for a longer time. I was surprised recently to read in a Mass Observation diary dated 31st July 1940: "Days are drawing in. I am not looking forward to the winter. I hope to have some coal sorted. But what will the food supply be like ?" This is from the diary of Maggie Joy Blunt as quoted on page 320 of "We Are At War" by Simon Garfield (Ebony Press, 2005). (In modern speech it is the increasingly longer (more drawn out) autumn nights which "draw in" rather than the days. Perhaps in the sense of "closing in" ?) Neil. >> 'Sorted' is fairly recent (Cassells Dic of Slang says 80s) UK slang for >> something or someone that has been dealt with satisfactorily. Of course, in [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >autumn nights which "draw in" rather than the days. Perhaps in the >sense of "closing in" ?) No, the days "drawing in" simply means that they are getting shorter in terms of daylight. COD: draw in (of successive days) - become shorter or (of nights) start earlier, because of the changing seasons. "Sorted", used in the two examples above, has a sort of dishonest or "bent" flavour to it. Coal was exceedingly scarce during the war, most of it going to the forces and power stations, so getting some sorted for private use may have involved theft via the black market. Arthur Daley operated his car dealership in the grey area of the law; that's why he needed a minder. SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England >My employer has offices in the UK and elsewhere, as well as the US >office where I work. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >this out" to a subordinate. In other words, the phrasal verb had a >little bit of a formal or authoritarian tone to it. A few years ago there was a series of advertisements for an insurance company. They were all on roadside hoardings, with pictures depicting a problem solved, and the slogan "With Hollard it's sorted". The only one I can remember now is one showing a bull wearing a nappy. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >> My employer has offices in the UK and elsewhere, as well as the US >> office where I work. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > The only one I can remember now is one showing a bull wearing a nappy. Did it have tits? SignatureJohn Dean Oxford >>> My employer has offices in the UK and elsewhere, as well as the US >>> office where I work. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >Did it have tits? Not to my knowledge. But perhaps analogously to wermen, it might have. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk My thanks to those who responded. SignatureStan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA http://OakRoadSystems.com Shikata ga nai... |
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