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'So to speak' versus 'As it were'



 
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'So to speak' versus 'As it were' #1 (permalink) Mon Oct 23, 2006 22:52 pm   'So to speak' versus 'As it were'		  
Hi

Could you please help me understand the use of the following expressions? Are they synonymous? How could we use them in a sentence?

1- So to speak
2- As it were

Tom
Tom
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 30 May 2006
Posts: 2061
So to speak/as it were #2 (permalink) Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:24 pm   So to speak/as it were		  
The expressions so to speak and as it were mean 'in a manner of speaking', 'if I can put it that way'.

    I was so terrified that my legs were like jelly, so to speak.

    Don't you feel, as it were, overwhelmed by so many words and ways of putting them together?
Conchita
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Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2826
Location: Madrid, Spain
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'So to speak' versus 'As it were' #3 (permalink) Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:22 am   'So to speak' versus 'As it were'		  
Bundles of thanks, Conchita! Very Happy

Conchita wrote:
I was so terrified that my legs were like jelly, so to speak.

Don't you feel, as it were, overwhelmed by so many words and ways of putting them together?

Could you please also tell me if the following sentences sound OK to you? Are these expressions equally common in spoken Englsih?

1- I was so terrified that ,as it were, my legs were like jelly.
2- I was so terrified that my legs were like jelly, as it were.
3- Don't you feel overwhelmed by so many words and ways of putting them together, so to speak?
4- Don't you feel, so to speak, overwhelmed by so many words and ways of putting them together?

Tom
Tom
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 30 May 2006
Posts: 2061
'So to speak' versus 'As it were' #4 (permalink) Wed Oct 25, 2006 10:56 am   'So to speak' versus 'As it were'		  
Your sentences sound okay to me, I guess. Try to place the phrases in question near the word/s they refer to, though -- in sentence number three, it is not very clear what 'so to speak' relates to.

The BNC gives lots of samples of the phrases in context:

http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/saraWeb?qy=as+it+were

http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/saraWeb?qy=so+to+speak
Conchita
Language Coach


Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2826
Location: Madrid, Spain
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