Just sayin

“Just saying” or Just Sayin” in the Midwest is used as a tag on the end of a thought almost always used for comedic effect. Sometimes it is used to indicate you expressed something that should be obvious to everyone but most people are too intimidated or uncomfortable to say out loud (like the elephant in the room metaphor). Depending on context it can also mean “seems obvious to me but it’s obviously just my personal opinion.” Occasionally it is tagged on the end of a sentence to indicate your previously expressed thought or opinion was just a quick first impression or “off the top of my head” response. Context is everything to understand the correct meaning.In my experience it can be applied equally to a compliment, a criticism and/or as an effective form of sarcasm. Most online definitions for it’s use completely missed the functional meaning of the phrase stating it was used “to claim something as fact without evidence”. Some claimed it was to “soften criticism or defer provoking anger from someone”. The worst was from people claiming it was used by “people with no balls to say something controversial or potentially offensive but to accept no responsibility for saying it.” Another misinterpretation Claimed the user knew their statement was false but were unwilling to acknowledge or respond to any facts proving otherwise”. Personally I have never once heard the phrase used as described in this paragraph.