What do we mean when we say, "yes -- no"?

I think it means we are indecisive and we don’t know our own mind.

I use Yes—no when I am on the fence.

One of those it can go both ways type of answers.

Or as a statement to project denial of a truth. In a more realistic (human) fashion.
I agree, actually I don’t. Or I don’t agree actually I do.

It may mean that we are thinking out loud. Giving an initial “gut response” and then considering the deeper consequences and implications of what was asked.

Well, first of all, I don’t like saying that at all. Secondly, when if I’m saying something like that it means that there was too much in my brain going on at once – the answer is yes in some situations but no in others

Personally, I don’t use phonetic punctuation .. so I just usually say “yes no” ... w/out the dashes.

When I respond that way, it’s usually because I don’t care either way, but am being forced to give my opinion/ make a decision.

it can also be used to indicate a question yes/no? as in do you agree

In my case, it’s a “yes…er, no” or the opposite. But I try to remain silent until I’ve prmulated an answer I consider final. One reason I avoid F2F conversations.

I think it means we answer first “Yes” without considering what we are saying. then, when we give it a second’s thought, we say “No”.

I don’t think I say that. Usually I’m quiet when formulating an answer, or say I need to think on that, or I ask what the other person thinks, and react to what they say. And, quite often, I’m flat out wrong.

@NaturalMineralWater I struggled over how to punctuate that for half a minute or so. I considered what you did; I considered separating them by a slash; and I ended up with what you see here.

It’s interesting, because the inflection is hard to describe. It’s like you say “yes,” as if it were the end of a sentence, but “no” quickly starts the next sentence. Of course, this is at the beginning of your answer. At the same time, you swallow both the words. It seems like it’s serving some kind of placeholder purpose in conversation, but I don’t know what place that is. Ok. Damn! Now I have to go research it (unless someone else finds a good link—hint, hint) ;-)

Inflection, I think, is the key. The only way I see this make sense is with yes as a statement and no as a question. In that case it would be asking if they agree with the answer “yes”. .

I use this at times that don’t even indicate a conflict or an initial gut response. Sometimes the “yes” is merely an acknowledgment of understanding the other person’s question.

Example—
Person: Are you gonna be leaving work at 5 today?
Me: Yeah, no, I’ve got a ton of shit to do and am gonna be stuck working late.

I knew off the bat that I wouldn’t be leaving work at 5, and I wasn’t conflicted. The “yeah” was an acknowledgment of the fact that this was a legitimate question and that I would understand why this person would wonder whether I was going to be leaving work at 5 today. Perhaps they’re aware of all the work I have on my plate, for instance. So the “yeah” expresses this idea.

Is this the kind of “yes—no” to which you were referring?

I don’t think I am aware of the yes no thing.

Aussies do it all the time. I don’t remember noticing it in USA and I don’t think I do it. To me it seems like it is used as a space filler or something to say if you’re not quite sure what to say. It is one of those things that seem to become habit such as saying “ya know” several times in a sentence. I don’t see it so much as indecision, as just a filler.

It is not in common usage in most of Canada. If we are equivocal we might say, “well yes and no” and then we explain our conflicting reasons.

@girlofscience Yes!!! That’s exactly it. I guess it usually is “Yeah, no, etc”

I think your example is an excellent one. I like your analysis, too. I think I would describe the acknowledgement part as a little more than acknowledging a legitimate question. I think it signals a desire to answer the question with a yes. “Yeah, I’d love to go home at 5, but no, I can’t do it.”

What do you think?

Yes I understand what you are saying, No, I do not agree with it.