It ’s a of the essence seam in the 1990 movieGhost , a pet phrase ofRush Limbaugh ’s dittoheads , and the reigningcopy machineof the mid-20th century , but what doesdittoreally intend , and where did it come from ?
“ ditto mark ” as a response signify as “ same here ” or “ what you said ” has a advanced , almost slangy feel to it , so many the great unwashed sham that it was take from the copy automobile use . The reading is that a ditto machine makes copies , so sayingdittocreates a “ copy ” of something that was just said . But the “ what you said ” use is 100 older than the automobile .
It comes from Italianditto , a dialect variation ondetto , meaning “ said , " the preceding participle ofdice , “ to say . ” It was used in Italian as inil ditto libro , “ the aforesaid book . ” In English , it came to be used in the 17th C to avoid having to repeat words and phrases in accounting and commercial language . Instead of reduplicate something likeJanuary 29orNewcastle upon Tynein a list , one could just putdittoin after the first happening .
Dittogradually drifted from a noun meaning “ the aforesaid ” or “ the same ” ( as in a 1759 cookbook : “ Parsley ascendent , and leaf of ditto ” ) to an adverb meaning “ I agree with what you just articulate . ”
The force of ditto function beyond mere understanding though . If the Patrick Swayze case inGhostsaid “ I have intercourse you ” and Demi Moore said “ Agreed ” or “ I concur , ” it would sound like she was agree only with the suggestion he evince : that he hump her . Kind of rude . What she means is not just “ I agree , ” but “ I hereby say the same . ”Dittostill carries the construct of literal saying with it . It performs an act of saying by merely point back to already said words .
Have you got a Big query you ’d like us to answer ? If so , have us know by emailing us atbigquestions@mentalfloss.com .
