WORD-QUIRK

I usually consider myself reasonably well-equipped to understand most non-technical reading matter, if written in English that is. There are, though, still a couple of words which regularly cause me to pause and ask myself, "now what does that really mean?" Both queries have been mentioned in posts in the past and relate to the words "postmodern" and "meta".
Snips and links

Postmodern:

What the heck is "postmodern" or "postmodernism"? I researched, read and continued to ponder. I've come to the conclusion that, in the main, it's used fairly indiscriminately by those who want to sound knowledgeable. It literally means something which occurs later than that which was thought to be modern : post = after. So really, postmodern is very modern, more modern than modern. But no - that's not it! Postmodern is a reaction to the modern - a going back to what was there before the modern happened. It's all very confusing! If post-modern means anything then, astrology is postmodern. We're in an era where the commonly held motto is "astrology is crap". Postmodern thinking dictates that we revert to eras of long ago when astrology was revered. Astrology is postmodern! Post is HERE.

Meta:

It appears writers who feel they are being "hip" or "cool" now use meta to refer to something that is self-referential. Sigh. I searched for enlightenment, found this piece by Ben Zimmer from last May in the Boston Globe He begins:

You know what? I’d love to write a column about the word meta. I could explain how meta started off as a prefix meaning “above or beyond” (the metaphysical realm is beyond the physical one) or “at a higher level of abstraction” (metalanguage is language used to describe other language). Then I could talk about how meta broke free as a standalone adjective to mean “consciously self-referential” and has become a perfect meta-commentary on the consciously self-referential age we live in. Maybe I could even start the column with an introduction about wanting to write about the word meta..........
Post and link are HERE, along with comment from mike.

I'll probably have to accept a personal mental blind-spot for those two words.

A couple of other word-quirks I've been noticing lately in TV conversations and interviews, serious or light-hearted -

1. Speaker begins his/her responses with "So......." when the word doesn't fit the context at all.

"So..." is being used in place of the old fashioned "Erm..." or "Hmm..." or just a pregnant pause to give the speaker a split-second's worth of time to think. What surprises me is how many otherwise brilliant individuals have picked up the "So..." habit - I heard Elizabeth Warren do it not long ago.


2. The other word-quirk is use of the word "hashtag" in conversation. Before I arrived in the USA I wasn't even aware of hashtags. Learned about them first as used before a numeral: #3, as, I guess, short form for "number 3". Then I came across a similar symbol depicted on the telephone receiver, experienced panic when told by some robot responder to "press 2 then the pound sign."
"Wha....?"
I risked pressing the hashtag-looking thing and all worked out well enough - as well as things can when speaking with a robot!

Hashtag, the word, has been creeping into conversation, I've noticed it in light-hearted TV conversations a few times. Someone will make a remark about a current topic, then add, for instance, "hashtag so topical" (but replacing "so topical" with more hip-sounding word(s) summing up the topic in question).

So...what can I say.... it's all meta and postmodern...hashtag don't understand!