All Set?

There are a few things that always tend to stick out in my mind when I think about sayings people have in the Northeast.  "All set" is definitely at the top of the list as it's the catchall for anyone in the service industry whether it's the waitress at dinner or the cashier at the department store.  The Texas equivalent to this would be "I'm good," which we'll get to shortly.

The phrase seemed to seep its way into my brain after Spike and I had been out to dinner several times and the waiters and waitresses would ask if we were ready to order.  But the thing is they didn't say, "Are you all set to order?"  It was just, "All set?" and we used our context clues to determine that we were expected to give them our order.  When the food would come it was, "All set?" again.  This time it would mean, "Do you have everything you need?"  And so it goes when the plates were ready to be taken away and when the check was to be paid.  It was always "All set?"  On the flip side, if the the waiter actually asks if I am still working on my plate, I could say, "I'm all set" meaning "You can take it."  I could also tell them I'm all set if they inquired about anything else I might need.  The whole thing didn't strike me from the very beginning because "all set" is phrase that everyone has used.  It only caught me when everyone everywhere was saying it.  When I brought it up to Spike, he thought for a second and agreed.  It's like we can't escape it.  Even that movie "The Town," which takes place in Boston uses the phrase a few times...now that's authenticity for you.

As I said earlier, the phrase "You good?" or "I'm good" is used primarily in the South for whatever reason.  I have used it a few times here in Maine out of habit, and sometimes it's backfired on me miserably.  I was at Whole Foods not too long ago when I bought one item.  The cashier asked if I wanted a bag for it and I said, "I'm good" meaning "No, thanks."  A few seconds passed when he finally asked, "I'm sorry, did you say 'I'm good' or 'I would'?"  If I'd said I was all set, none of that would have happened.  Now I go places and use "all set" at any point to see if I'm using it correctly.  Most of the time I fit right in.

How about from now on, we stop with the idioms and use a simple "yes" or "no, thank you" to get through our daily lives?  Or at least ask a question that is a little more specific?  It seems like it would make life a little easier for everyone, but then again how would you know if you were in the Northeast or the South?