so long
1
6.3
- idiom
- /soʊ lɔŋ/
- Informal
- It was nice meeting you, so long!
Examples
-
So long as we can find the right photographer.
-
Oh, Supernatural, I'm about to say goodbye, so long and thanks for all the fish.
Blog text (29) -
So long, Chip.
-
So long, y'all.
-
After our conversation, I waved and said, 'So long!'
-
With a smile, she turned to her friends and said, 'So long, everyone!'
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A short word or action people use when they leave each other
747
1.0
Words people say when they leave each other
653
1.0
Words or actions people use when they leave
434
3.0
A short phrase people say when they leave each other
397
1.1
A friendly informal way to say goodbye when leaving
222
8.4
A friendly way to say goodbye when you expect to meet again
176
1.0
A polite or formal way to say goodbye when parting
50
7.2
A word people use to say goodbye
30
9.3
A final goodbye you say when leaving for a long time
28
8.5
A polite way to say goodbye when you expect to see someone again
25
8.6
A goodbye used when someone leaves for a long time
20
8.7
A casual way to say goodbye to someone
14
8.9
A friendly way to say goodbye
14
9.9
A playful word people use to say goodbye
11
9.8
A friendly way to say goodbye
8
9.8
A German phrase people use to say goodbye
4
9.9
A friendly old-fashioned British way to say goodbye
2
4.4
Words or actions people use when they leave each other
1
9.5
A friendly informal way to say goodbye when you will see or speak to someone soon
A funny way to say goodbye when leaving a group
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
so + long
Although the constituents 'so' (to such an extent) and 'long' (for a great length of time) are individually transparent, the use of 'so long' as an informal farewell is a conventionalized pragmatic meaning not directly deducible from the literal phrase. The literal sense ('for a long time') gives a partial clue linking to parting but does not reliably predict the goodbye function for a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
So long may come from an older use of the words so and long, which together meant 'for a long time' or 'until then'. People would say it like 'until we meet again', and it became a short, casual way to say 'goodbye'.