Just as soon as we answer one question for That's What They Say, another one rolls in. This week's query comes from listener Carole Ford:
"I was texting a friend recently, and I was saying, 'I would just as soon [do something else].' I had to stop and do an internet search to make sure I was spelling it'"... Later that day a different friend sent me a message on Messenger using 'just as soon.'
This double "just as soon" sighting got Ford wondering where this phrase comes from, and we were happy to look into it. We were also happy to dig into its associated eggcorn.
As it turns out, "just as soon" goes back hundreds of years. By the 1600s, both "as soon" and "just as soon" had entered English with the meaning of "as readily" or "as willingly." Here's an example from 1816: "I had as soon be beaten by him as by anybody else."
By the 1700s, another related phrase had emerged. "As soon as look at you" meant "immediately" or "without hesitation." Today, you will often find this phrase alongside violent words like "shoot" and "kill." For example, "Some of these guys would kill you, as soon as look at you." In other words, they would kill you the moment they saw you, without a second thought.
For many of us, "as soon" or "just as soon" has a meaning closer to "rather." You might say something like, "I'd just as soon eat at home than go to a crowded restaurant."
Now for the eggcorn. As you may recall, an eggcorn is a reinterpretation of a phrase into something phonologically similar. In this case, "just as soon" becomes "just assume."
That may look strange in writing, but try saying it out loud: "I'd just assume eat at home than go to a crowded restaurant." Does it still sound strange?
For more on "just as soon" and "sooner," including some colorful slang definitions, listen to the audio above.
