I don’t know how many times this has happened. I’m on the phone with some chirpy Career Gal, she says something to which I say “Yes, fine,” and then she warbles “Okay??”, leaving me somewhat bewildered and impatient.
It has been observed (alas that I failed to blog it, else I could tell you by whom) that “language is a code used only by code-breakers.” So perhaps I have imperfectly cracked the tacit protocol of such exchanges. Am I expected to refrain from giving my consent until it’s explicitly asked, or has the “No Means No” campaign resulted in a presumption that Yes also means no unless repeated?
A simpler hypothesis is that until she expressly asks “Okay??” her ears aren’t open.