In the absence of counterexamples, I offer the following analyses:
In all of these cases, "so" appears to add even more intensity to the
intensifiers. Using your examples, in the case of its use with adverbs, I
can discern an understood "very", as in "so very . . .":
"And if a man wol aske him prively
Why they been clothed so [very] unthriftily."
"What am I to say in answer to conduct so [very] preposterous?"
"A voice so [very] thrilling ne'er was heard."
Note that "very" used alone would not have the same pragmatic effect.
The same appears to be true for your examples using adjectives:
Among the floures, so [very] swete of ayre" (1503).
Dickens (1837): My dear brother is so [very] good."
"so [very] great a blunder". "so [very] boldfaced a lie."
In the case of your examples with verbs, the sense is the following:
What payne doth thee so [very much] appall?"
Thus, one can do something very (or so) "unthriftily", conduct something
very (or so) "preposterous," hear something very (or so) "thrilling", smell
something very (or so) "swete", be very (or so) "good", make a very "great"
(or so great a) blunder, tell a very "bold-faced" (or so bold-faced a) lie,
and even (so) very much appall pain.
While "very", when used alone, seems to objectively assign a degree to some
characteristic, "so" appears to add an emotional, or subjective, value to
that assessment (e.g., "so [much]", "so [very]"). And, while both "very"
and "so" by themselves permit (or select for) an adjective or adverb phrase
(very/so good, very/so thriftily), unlike "very", "so" allows for a verb
phrase, "so appall," as well as a following noun or adjectival phrase ("so
great a blunder"/"so bold-faced a lie"; "so swete of ayre") in all cases
("so appall[s me]", "so swete [of ayre]", "so great [a blunder]"). In the
latter case, "so" appears to be an editorial, subjective comment--more than
a rating on a scale (as appears to be the case with very [Compare the
following: "You are very beautiful," "You are so beautiful", "You are so _
_ _ beautiful" & "You are so very beautiful (to me)."] )
A modern-day comparison might be the following:
"You are so_ _ _ _ (NOT) what I thought you were!"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Craig Hancock" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 11:35 AM
Subject: Re: Unresolved comparative "so"
Helene, Bill, and others,
The OED has record of "so" without complement way back to Old English
and carrying through.
Sometimes this occurs with negative or interrogative clauses. Here's
one from Middle English, fromChaucer: "And if a man wol aske him prively
Why they been clothed so unthriftily." From 1850: "What am I to say in
answer to conduct so preposterous?"
You might be able to make a case that it means something like "to
such an extent". This, from wordsworth: "A voice so thrilling ne'er was
heard."
But the OED also lists it "in affirmative clauses, tending to become
a mere intensive without comparative force, and sometimes emphasized in
speaking and writing." "Among the floures, so swete of ayre" (1503).
Dickens (1837): My dear brother is so good."
It also intensifies adjectives, often followed by a... "so great a
blunder". "so boldfaced a lie."
It can also intensify verbs: "What payne doth thee so appall?"
(spencer, 1579).
The word is very, very rich and interesting, so give yourself some
time if you want to look it up. (I didn't think it would be SO rich.")
Craig
helene hoover wrote:
> Well, Bill, I'm with you. I always tell my students that they need to
> finish the comparison with the comparative "so." I usually use the
> example, "She was SO excited, she wet her pants," and they tend to
> remember that one. Of course, they don't always remember to incorporate
> the ending in their writing, but memories are fairly easily jogged if I
> mention it again! Helene Hoover
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:58:37 -0500
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Unresolved comparative "so"
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Dick,
>
>
> This is by no means the first time that what I thought was an odd
> usage turned out to be the norm, or vice versa (“What do you mean
> ‘might should’ sounds funny?”). I wonder whether I can blame this
> one on dialect, or whether (instead) I’ve fallen into the old
> grammar pedant’s trap of trying to foist my idiolect on the universe.
>
>
> Thanks, er, muchly,
>
>
> Bill Spruiell
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Veit, Richard
> *Sent:* Tuesday, January 22, 2008 4:29 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: Unresolved comparative "so"
>
>
> Bill:
>
>
> I Googled “thanks so much” in parentheses and got 17 million hits.
> Then I added 1950 (randomly chosen date) and looked at some
> newspaper archives where the phrase appeared. Here is one example
> from an Iowa newspaper in 1950
>
> <http://www.newspaperarchive.com/LandingPage.aspx?type=glp&search=%e2%80%9cthanks%20so%20much%e2%80%9d%201950&img=1726695>.
> Clearly, it’s not a new expression.
>
>
> Dick Veit
>
> ________________________________
>
> Richard Veit
> Department of English
> University of North Carolina Wilmington
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Spruiell, William C
> *Sent:* Tuesday, January 22, 2008 3:39 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Unresolved comparative "so"
>
>
> Dear All:
>
>
> I’m trying to figure out whether my reactions to a particular
> construction are based on my age (incipient geezerhood), or my
> native dialect (Inland Southern). It involves use of comparative
> “so” without an accompanying “that” clause, roughly equivalent to
> “very”:
>
>
> A: “Thanks so much”
>
> B: “It was so hot.”
>
>
> I hear (A) very frequently, but I don’t remember hearing it when I
> was younger. I also hear expressions like (B) from my students,
> although not nearly as frequently as (A), which has become a set
> expression. I can almost make (B) work in my own speech, but only
> with a lot of emphasis on the “so” and an emphatic drop at the end
> of the sentence, but this is not always how my students use it.
> Somehow, I can’t manage (A) at all – any attempt and I can tell
> it’s coming out as sarcasm (“Oh, now my leg’s broken. Thanks SO
> much.”).
>
>
> I’ve checked the American Dialect Society listserv archive, but I
> either used the wrong search terms, or there hasn’t been much
> discussion of it. My attention was particularly drawn to it by a
> recent political robocall (I live in Michigan) in which the
> candidate (who is older than I am) not only used (A), but managed
> to sound natural while doing it.
>
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> Bill Spruiell
>
> Dept. of English
>
> Central Michigan University
>
>
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