One of my favorite language shifts of the last few years is the construction “yeah, no.” I remember back in the day (high school) when people would ask you a negatively-phrased question–“You don’t like sauerkraut, do you?”–and wait for you to answer. Answer “yes,” and they’d say, “Oh, so you do like sauerkraut?” Answer “no,” and you’d get the same response.
Now–
“You don’t like sauerkraut, do you?”
“Yeah, no.”
“What about Britney? I thought you used to be a big fan.”
“Yeah, no.”
And everybody knows what you mean.
–If only there were a good solution to the “this week/next week” thing. I HATE it when people try to explain their reasoning behind using one or the other. If it were so simple and clear, why the @#$% does it need to be explained?