As some posters mentioned The New Yorker on another thread, I may as well link to its new blogs, many of which are some of the best out there. George Packer and Hendrik Hertzberg’s blogs are particularly noteworthy. The latter is spot on with this observation (says the guy who just wrote ‘duh’ [for shame!]):
Language Health Advisory No. 3
“Not so much”
This catchphrase has not yet fully crossed over into the
hot zone, but the danger signs are mounting. Its Google Repetition Index of
9.1 million is misleadingly inflated by its orthodox uses, which are not so much common as ubiquitous. (A better metric might be its Google Blog Repetition Index, a relatively low but still ominous
1.12 million.)
Its precise origins have not yet been definitively pinned down, although one
researcher has traced its popularity to its repeated employment by Jon Stewart and the writers of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” It is still fresh enough for Stewart to wring a few dozen more laughs out of it, but bloggers and feature writers should be wary, as it is beginning to smell a bit ripe, à la “Duh!” and “Not!!”
http://www.newyorker.com/online/index/blogs