Why do we say "so long" when leaving?

-- paul (wprimeroselane@msn.com), May 30, 2001

Answers

It might come from; "You have been here so long, I thought you'de never leave"!! I like the one that states;"All people who come here bring joy; most by arriving; a few by departing".

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), May 30, 2001.

Guests are like fish, after three days they start to stink...

-- Willy Allen (willyallen2@yahoo.com), May 30, 2001.

Better to leave early and have people say " I wish they could have stayed longer", than linger and have people say, " I thought they would never leave".

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), May 30, 2001.

I believe it is an English transliteration the Hebrew "Shalom" which was/is a common greeting. I think that "shalome" is a derivitive of "Salem" which means "peace". Jerusalem = City of Peace. Seems ironic now, doesn't it? Shows what happens when God's people don't follow God's ways.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), May 31, 2001.

The way I heard it, and this is probably one of many, many explanations, is that the phrase derived from the statement "I hope it will not be so long until we see each other next time", derived from a desire for more frequent visits, and shortened to "so long". But that is only one of many explanations, and differences are rampant, however implausible. Consider that there were people (none of whom I've met that will actually admit this!) that reportedly liked Despicable Bill! Go figure! GL.

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), June 02, 2001.