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Occasionally I’ll dive into some of these “this day in history” Web sites just to see what famous event took place that day. Today, I checked out history.com and learned that the phrase “OK” just turned 170 years old. “OK” is one of those odd phrases – it’s not exactly a word, it’s not exactly a sentence. It’s two letters smashed together and it means a variety of things.
If someone asks how you’re doing and you respond with an “OK” it can mean a few things depending on how you say it. A cheery “OK” could mean that things are looking up. A dour “OK” means that you could be better. It can also be both a question and an answer. Question – “I’m going to the store to get some milk, OK?” Answer – “OK.” There probably aren’t two more versatile letters in the English language.
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