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02/18/2003 Entry: "All"

John Mohan, the pastor, leader of Siloam Mission, and good friend and brother in Christ urges us to look up the word "All" in the dictionary. And when I looked, did you know what I found?

All means All. :-D

As I digress...

Among the newest ways of introducing direct speech in the United States is the construction consisting of a form of be with all, as in I'm all, “I'm not gonna do that!” And she's all, “Yes you are!” This construction is particularly common in the animated speech of young people in California and elsewhere on the West Coast, who use it more frequently than the informal East Coast alternatives, be like and go, as in He's like (or goes), “I'm not gonna do that!” These indicators of direct speech tend to be used more often with pronoun subjects (He's all, “I'm not....”) than with nouns (The man's all, “I'm not....”), and with the historical present (He's all....) than with the past (He was all....). All of these locutions can introduce a gesture or facial expression rather than a quotation, as in He's all.... followed by a shrug of the shoulders. Be all and be like can also preface a statement that sums up an attitude, as in “I'm all ‘No way!’”