bsg (12/02/82)
I've been waiting for someone to point this out, but no one has, so... Amid all the discussion of the etymology of nope, has anyone else wondered where "yep" came from? Or is this not a widespread slang form of yes? It seems to me that "nope" and "yep" must be related. But if they are, doesn't this kill the "the p in nope comes from the shape of the mouth after saying 'no'" theory? I have no answers, only questions. (My American Heritage dictionary gives the etymology of "nope" as "from no" and the etymology of "yep" as "from yes (after nope).") (An aside--where would you put the period at the end of the previous sentence?) When I was in the capital of South Dakota 16 years ago, I was informed that the "correct" local pronunciation of its name was "peer." It's spelled, of course, "Pierre." Billie Goldstein npois!bsg Bell Labs (till 12/31/82) American Bell (from 1/1/83) Neptune NJ