Of course you could use paralanguage and nod your head in agreement.
But when it calls for you to furnish a proper response that shows that you're still "in the conversation", you need to demonstrate a proper linguistic, conversational turn.
Cue one of the most recent derivatives of post-millennium speak:
"That's Crazy"
Seriously, what does it mean?
A quick check on UrbanDict gives this:
It seems like there's even a (lame) facebook group for this (lazy) linguistic invention.
"Wow." "Really!" "That's cool/nice/amazing."
We all love Americanisms don't we.
(Wow...)
They make even the most insouciant of responses seem sanguine.
(Oh, really!)
Heck, it even allows you to pass off as being a good conversationalist.
(That's amazing, man!)
But be careful, lest you end up sounding like a doofus with your blatant fibbing.
As an example (click to enlarge):
Just to satiate my hunger for more background knowledge, I decided to read up a little more on this curious but meaningless (yet highly useful *wink wink*) construction.
It turns out that "that's crazy" is a derivative from it's grandparent/parent form of "that's cool yo" or "that's cool". Some obvious links to Rap-speak is evident here, though through frequent wider usage among the street-worthy white Americans, it has become popularized among the middle-class of America.
"Crazy" happens to be a substitute for "cool" and just means that something is hip and socially accepted. To be classified as "crazy/cool" one needs to do stuff that brands him/her as popular and worthy of kudos or emulation.
So if Percy Jackson can stay underwater for 7 minutes, then the right response will be "that's crazy!"
However, given the many derivations and deviations from the traditional usage of "crazy" and even "that's crazy" to mean something that means nothing at all, we should probably consider that Percy's friend, Grover, was just saying it without thinking. Oops.
So the next time, we hear someone boasting about their dog, I think we really could consider using this as well.
A quick check on UrbanDict gives this:
1. that's crazy
It's the perfect response when you haven't been listening at all.
It works whether the other person has been saying something funny, or sad, or infuriating, or boring....
Example:
Them: "my pet chinchilla ate some weed and killed my rottweiler last night."
You (thirsty, not paying attention): "oh man, that's crazy."
It seems like there's even a (lame) facebook group for this (lazy) linguistic invention.
The red bits are highlighted for easy reference (Click to enlarge):
So this means that you could well fake it and make it seem like you're listening when you're actually not. Synonyms would include:
"Wow." "Really!" "That's cool/nice/amazing."
We all love Americanisms don't we.
(Wow...)
They make even the most insouciant of responses seem sanguine.
(Oh, really!)
Heck, it even allows you to pass off as being a good conversationalist.
(That's amazing, man!)
But be careful, lest you end up sounding like a doofus with your blatant fibbing.
As an example (click to enlarge):
Just to satiate my hunger for more background knowledge, I decided to read up a little more on this curious but meaningless (yet highly useful *wink wink*) construction.
It turns out that "that's crazy" is a derivative from it's grandparent/parent form of "that's cool yo" or "that's cool". Some obvious links to Rap-speak is evident here, though through frequent wider usage among the street-worthy white Americans, it has become popularized among the middle-class of America.
"Crazy" happens to be a substitute for "cool" and just means that something is hip and socially accepted. To be classified as "crazy/cool" one needs to do stuff that brands him/her as popular and worthy of kudos or emulation.
So if Percy Jackson can stay underwater for 7 minutes, then the right response will be "that's crazy!"
However, given the many derivations and deviations from the traditional usage of "crazy" and even "that's crazy" to mean something that means nothing at all, we should probably consider that Percy's friend, Grover, was just saying it without thinking. Oops.
So the next time, we hear someone boasting about their dog, I think we really could consider using this as well.
(Excited) A: "Hey! Guess what? My dog can spell out her name with her poo."
(Indifferent) You/Me: "Wow... that's crazy, man."
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