I was in Melbourne last week.  While I was there, I noticed an odd phrase that the locals kept using.  It goes “yeah, no…”

I could not quite work out what it means.  Is it just a way to agree?  Perhaps a polite way to at least partially disagree?  Or, it is a self-effacement (this one was based mostly on context of use).

I asked several of my Australian colleagues.  There was no consensus in their responses.  So, I left Melbourne no wiser as to the meaning of this phrase.  This itself is an oddity, since my Aussie colleagues are usually nothing if not clear and direct.  

Am I happy that I don’t understand this?  Yeah, no…