I agree, but...

By George??? Why George? Who is this George? When, where & why did this saying originate? I feel reasonably confident in suggesting that it sounds 'terrribly Brritish'!!

I often say, by George, I think she's got it, but it's never occurred to me before to ask why we say it.

Yes, but it depends on the object of the exercise. Is it a purely academic pursuit or the start of a new thread which may be of interest to others as well? We can look at things again!

I don't mind if people ask questions we've already covered. It is very satisfying to know the answer. But that's just me.

Just to satisfy my curiosity, I looked at the archived discussion and it was well and thoroughly answered. So I think it's fair to say we should check for previous discussions, then renew the question if it isn't resolved. Imagine how many W9Y questions that would forestall?

Yes, checking the archives is a good idea. Funny thing, many times when I google a phrase, it leads me right back to Phrase Finder. I could have saved myself a step.

OK, well it might surprise you all to know that I agree too. It might surprise you even more to know that I did do a search, and all it came up with was 'george'. So I admit that I didn't bother to read detail, but that was probably my mistake. So sorry to have wasted peoples' time. It wasn't intentional. Besides, I've seen many many many repeated threads.

Although I agree with one previous comment that if they're all repeated this will be a never ending circuit.

I'll have another look at the archives, and this time read the detail under the heading 'George'.