“Sorted,” Sorted

It’s always good to check my inbox and see an email from Nancy Friedman. One came last week and this is what it said: “This is BrE, right?” she asked. “Have you spotted this trend?” I answered “yes” to both questions–the first correctly and the second, not correctly at all. I was certainly aware of the term in British English, meaning, as the OED puts it, “Chiefly British slang. Of a state of affairs, etc.: fixed, settled, secure; arranged, prepared, dealt with.” And I had been seen the signs in British train and underground stations (as part of a campaign that started in 2016), It’s a useful word, and my wife and I had actually adopted it around the house. And I thought–and I told Nancy I had–written about it on the blog. But in fact I hadn’t. The closest I’d come was a post on the similar but less forceful “sort out” way back in 2011. In truth, I wasn’t even aware that “sorted” had arrived on U.S. shores. But it has. The British use is relatively new, I should say. The OED has a…

Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town