Say Less - Language Log

« previous post | next post »

Over the past decade or so, "say less" has spread as a substitute for "say no more". Here's part of a Facebook ad from a Bellvue WA restaurant — "Soup Dumpling Delivery, say less!":

The Urban Dictionary entries along similar lines go back to 2011.

A YouTube search turns up quite a few "Say Less" music videos. This 2018 Hypebeast interview with Roy Woods, about his 2017 album Say Less, attributes the expression to Toronto street slang, maybe with a West Indies origin:

The Toronto accent is one that you have to hear to fully understand — drawing influence from the city’s sizeable West Indies population and combining elements of street slang and patois sprinkled with slight rising intonations. When asked to explain the meaning behind the title of his first album Say Less, Roy Woods’s Toronto accent becomes even more pronounced than usual. It’s the same phenomenon kids of immigrants will be familiar with, when our parents’ tone and pronunciation seem to switch up without missing a beat based on their levels of joy or, more likely, sternness. But when Roy speaks about Toronto, it’s only pride.

“’Say less’ means kind of… ‘I understand,’” he explains. “You understand what the person is telling you already: ‘Say less fam; Imma do it.’ Do more instead of just talking about doing things. That’s why I always say less: I hate it when people say things and their actions don’t own up to it. I want to see the work. Don’t tell me; show me. Say less fam!”

Woods'  interpretation lies somewhere in between "say no more" and "shut up already", but the broader uptake seems to shift towards the positive valence, as in this meme:

An earlier (?) development along the same lines turned "shut up!" into a positive expression of (real or feigned) amazement.

And the interpretation of "say no more" as a sign of understanding, which the OED dates to the 16th century, is of course also similar.

April 2, 2022 @ 6:00 am · Filed by Mark Liberman under Innovation

Permalink