"Eh"

"Eh"

It's a response we've all heard before. You may expect to hear it when you ask someone if feel like getting Chinese food for dinner. You may expect ot hear it when you ask someone how they feel about Rocky III. You expect to hear it when you point out a s0-so looking girl at the bar and ask your buddy what he thinks of her.

Point is, "eh" is a common answer/cop-out for a lot of different questions. We've reached a point in our lazy society where we're not surprised when we get "eh" as a response to any question we may think to ask someone.

"How ya doin' there, Stanley?"

"Eh..."

"Oh. Still having problems with those anal warts?"

"Eh"

"Wanna go talk about it over a few beers and then beat up some midgets?"

"Eh"

It's almost as if people have become too lazy to say "I don't know," which is a whopping THREE TIMES as long, with the added stress of pronouncing actual words. But that's not my point. What I am trying to say is that there are very few times when you are shocked or taken aback or offended when someone replies to a question with "eh."


I had my first experience with "eh shock" last night. I was in bed with my girlfriend. She was tossing and turning a lot before mentioning that she wasn't tired and couldn't fall asleep. So I, naturally, being kind of "in the mood" anyway, broach the subject of partaking in consensual intercourse (not in those exact words). Her response: "Eh"

What a stomach punch to the ego that was. I almost couldn't believe it. No "I'm not in the mood" or "I don't feel well" or "I'm kinda tired." Just "eh..." And the way she said it, it was as if I had just asked her if she wanted to want to watch The Tonight Show. In its own strange way, it was incredibly insulting. I know she wasn't purposely trying to be mean about it. She merely chose her words poorly; which is something I'm sure we all have done.

Anyway, I managed to get over it and fall asleep. And I didn't even think about it this morning. Then I started thinking about it again and I was getting a bit ticked off to the point that I decided to dedicate a whole blog entry to it. You're welcome.

And yes, it's been a bit of a slow day at work.