I don’t know when it happened or where it came from; it kinda snuck up on me. For as long as I can remember (about 50 years or so), we used to say,”Thanks a lot”, or if we wanted to be a little more polite, “Thank you very much”. But in the last few years, everyone seems to now say, “Thanks so much” instead of the former expressions of gratitude.
We might speculate that gratitude exists on a continuum that spans the more casual “A lot” through the the more effusive “So much”. Where and when did this transition originate? Many of these cultural shifts in colloquial expression have their roots in television, especially American sit-coms. Does anyone know? What’s ultimately irritating is that I now find myself saying this almost exclusively, mirroring its widespread use. I’ve been speaking to a few Apple techs this morning and I think they and Is aid “Thanks so much” at least a dozen times in a 5 minute conversation.